Reunion
by REIDFANATIC
Summary: SEQUEL TO He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother. Reid accompanies Allie to her high school reunion and becomes embroiled in a situation that is not what it appears. Reid/OC
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds. No copyright infringement is intended.

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"Checkmate," Reid said as he moved his knight into position to capture his brother's queen.

"Aargh," Evan yelled, "I'm never gonna win at this game." He looked at his older brother with a mixture of annoyance and respect as he began to collect the chess pieces and place them on the board in their proper places.

"Yes you will, you haven't been playing chess that long. You can't expect to win right away."

"Yeah but you're a genius, what are the chances of me ever winning?" He asked the profiler in a disheartened tone. "Don't answer that," he said before his older brother was able to respond. "You're probably the one person in the world who could tell me what the chances are."

"Hey, don't let the fact that I'm a genius influence you. Gideon used to beat me all the time." The words escaped his mouth before he realized it. He had hardly spoken of his mentor since the man left him and the BAU a couple of months ago, with nothing more than a note.

"I wonder why he left. He didn't even say goodbye. Well, he sort of said goodbye to you in the letter." The fourteen year old looked at his brother's face where he so often found the answers he was seeking. This time, however, the answer could not be found in a book or a statistics chart and Spencer could not articulate an easy explanation.

"I think," his hands fiddled nervously with the black queen, "After his friend, Sarah, got killed by an unsub he felt he'd let get away, he blamed himself. He became disillusioned with a job that had become his whole life. Do you understand?" Reid hoped fervently that his brother did understand because he wasn't sure he understood himself.

"Yeah, I guess so. Sort of like you felt guilty over Randall Garner." Reid nodded and the boy carried on. "Dad gets locked up in prison and now Gideon's gone. Dad was, well, Dad and Gideon was like a father figure to both of us. I got Mom but what are you gonna do?" He looked at his brother, his chocolate brown eyes full of concern.

Reid looked for a few moments at the chess piece still in his hand, and then looked again at the boy. "I was really angry at first. Gideon was my mentor, my role model, he was practically like a father to me. I felt abandoned and betrayed, just like when Dad left when I was ten. Then Emily told me to reread the letter. I reminded her I have an eidetic memory, the letter was ingrained in my brain, why would I need to reread it. But I did read it again and although I already knew what the words were, it seemed to sink in more. Maybe it was looking at his handwriting. Being an analyst, I was able to see his mood in the way he wrote. It was a big help to me."

Evan looked surprised, "What did it say that you didn't already know from reading it the first time," his brother queried?

"Some of the words made me remember things, sometimes just a look or a pat on the back. I remembered how he looked at me when I gave you the chess set for your birthday. He nodded at me and smiled as if to say he'd passed on all he could to me, now it was my turn."

"You mean sort of like a teacher, once you finish one grade they pass you on to the next," Evan asked.

"Yeah something like that," Reid nodded. "We learned so much about and from each other over a chessboard and he realized when I gave you a chess set that the lesson had been learned and the torch had been passed. I also noticed in the letter, the way he wrote my name. He made the S really big and dark. One usually does that with the first letter of their last name. It stands for family and pride. He considered me family, he was proud of me and he knows I'll be okay."

"What about the new guy, do you like him?"

"Well, I don't know David Rossi very well yet. I don't dislike him. I've read all the books he wrote. He's got a lot of experience. I'm sure there's a lot I can learn from him." The young agent hoped he'd answered his brother's question.

"But he's no Gideon, huh."

"Nobody is," Reid said quietly. He then nudged Evan, saying, "Are you going to make a move or just sit there like a bump on a log."

"Yeah, okay, okay, I'm going," the teen stated as he moved his pawn forward, beginning yet another game.

Reid countered, moving his own pawn when Evan remarked, "I was thinking about something last night."

"Let me guess, Bethany," Reid laughed.

"No, this is serious." The boy was not smiling and Reid sensed he had something weighing heavily on his mind.

"Okay, what is it; you know you can talk to me about anything, don't you." Reid looked at Evan, the game momentarily forgotten as he tried to get his brother to tell him what was on his mind.

"Okay, it's like this," the boy sighed heavily, "I was thinking about Dad. I want to go see him." Spencer sat still for a moment, he had not expected this. He looked at Evan who appeared almost afraid of how his brother would respond.

"You want to go to Leavenworth to see Dad?"

"Yeah, can you take me sometime?" The boy looked like he had asked nothing more than to be taken to the mall or the library.

"Evan, going to Leavenworth is not an easy thing. Firstly, it's a fair ways away, we'd have to fly. Secondly, a prison is not really the proper place for a kid, and don't tell me you're not a kid anymore. I know you're fourteen but that place is full of the worst our society has to offer and I really don't want to see you subjected to that. Thirdly, things haven't been easy for Dad in there and I don't know if he'd like you to see him that way."

"What way," Evan said suspiciously, "What's wrong with Dad?"

The key turned in the lock and Allie burst into the room. "Oh good, I'm so glad you're home. Have I got the greatest news for you!"


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds at least none but my own.

A/N: Thanks to all who read and reviewed and added the story to their alerts

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The Reid brothers looked up in astonishment at Allie's face brightly flushed with excitement. Her sparkling eyes took in their faces and the chess game and she said, "Oh, am I interrupting something important?"

"Spencer was just telling me about D…" Evan started while Reid almost shouted simultaneously.

"No, no, you're not interrupting anything. We just started this game, we can finish it later." He rose from his chair, approaching the perky brunette. "You said something about great news."

"Oh yeah, I just got an email from Chantal Jeffries, one of my friends from high school. There's a five year reunion in a couple of weeks. Isn't that great, I'll get to see all my friends from high school and they'll get to meet the wonderful Dr. Spencer Reid."

"What," Reid squeaked. "You want me to go to your high school reunion?"

"Well yeah," Allie looked surprised, "You are my boyfriend, that's the kind of thing boyfriends do."

"Um, look Allie, I can see you're really excited about this reunion but you know me and high school. It was not one of my favorite times. I would really be the wrong person to take to something like this." He looked at her beseechingly.

"So you're not gonna go with me, is that what you're saying? And who do you suggest I take; someone else from Quantico, maybe one of my old boyfriends." Her voice was rising with every word and he knew it would soon reach the danger zone.

"I can't just go running off to Ohio. What if a case came up and I wasn't here?" Reid attempted to placate the inflamed woman in front of him.

Allie, it seemed, was not to be placated. Her eyes blazed as she looked at the man she loved. "Don't give me that. Hotch has practically been begging you to take some of the vacation time you've saved up. He even asked me one day to try and get you to take some time off. Now that Rossi's replaced Gideon, there's no excuse anymore."

"This isn't high school," Allie added knowing he was still plagued by nightmares from the things he'd been made to suffer through at the hands of high school bullies. "We're all adults here; you're older than all my classmates. No bully is going to beat you up. You're a doctor and an FBI agent, not a little kid. There's another reason I'd like you there too."

Almost afraid to ask, Reid said, "What's that?"

"I'd like my parents to meet you. I've told them all about you. They can't wait to meet you."

Reid looked like he had just been sentenced to death by firing squad. Evan had not moved from his seat at the chess board. Damn, this was good!

"Meet…meet your parents," Reid stuttered, staring blankly at Allie.

"Oh my God Spencer, did you think I never wanted you to meet my parents. Of course I want you to meet them. I'd like to meet your parents too."

"Well that's not happening. My mother's in a sanitarium and my father's in a federal prison. Did you think we'd just arrange tea?"

"No, of course not; I realize things will be a little more difficult but it's not like it can't be done. You do go to visit your Mom. I could go along and if it's not a good day, I wait in the lobby. And well, people do visit at Leavenworth."

"That's just what I was saying to Spencer before you came, Allie," Evan interjected, jumping up from his seat in front of the chess board. Reid squeezed his eyes tightly shut and his head dropped. He'd been hoping Allie's arrival would put his brother's thoughts of a visit to Leavenworth out of his mind but now, it seemed, it would have to be dealt with. "I was asking him to take me to Leavenworth to see Dad. Maybe you could come with us."

"Sure, why not, why don't we take Allie's high school marching band with us as well?" Reid uttered in total exasperation. He felt he was suddenly losing control of the situation, if he ever had it to begin with, which he was seriously starting to doubt.

"There's no need for sarcasm Spencer. What's wrong with Evan wanting to see his dad?"

"There's nothing wrong with it, it's just complicated. Leavenworth is a federal penitentiary. It's not like going to someone's apartment and ringing the doorbell." Reid looked imploringly at Allie trying to get her to change the subject.

Allie, however, was not complying with Reid's pleas. "Well, I'm sure other inmates have children that visit them," she stated forthrightly.

Alright, this was obviously not working, Reid thought, looking at his brother and his girlfriend both eyeing him expectantly. So he'd try a different tack, he decided, divide and conquer.

"Okay, well it's going to take some time. I'll need to get time off from work and if I'm taking time off to go to Allie's reunion, then I can't take too much time off all at once, so it'll have to wait for a little while."

"You're going to my reunion, really!" Allie ran over to Reid, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him on the cheek.

Reid glanced at Evan as he held the, now happy, Allie in his arms. He could see the boy was disappointed but at least Allie was no longer pleading his case.

"I'm so excited. My parents will be thrilled," Allie babbled excitedly and Reid smiled and nodded. "I have to go call Mom and some of my friends. You better call Hotch," she said as she turned for the door. At the door she turned and walked back over to him, kissing him soundly on the lips, then ran out the door, waving at the brothers as she left.

"So, going to the reunion, huh," Evan said quietly after the door had closed behind Allie, the disappointment evident in his face and his tone.

"Yeah, Allie's always there for me, I guess I should be there for her," Reid replied in an attempt to ease the blow and quell the boy's unhappiness.

"Well. I hope you have a good time." Evan walked over to Reid's computer. "Is it okay if I do some research for school?"

"Don't you want to finish the game?"

"No, like you said, we just got started. We can finish it another time," Evan reminded him.

"You want to do schoolwork…here!" Reid was incredulous.

"There's a first time for everything," his brother replied, sitting down in front of the computer and fingering the keyboard.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds. No copyright infringement is intended

A/N: Thanks to all who read and reviewed. Special thanks to mablereid for always being there for me to bounce ideas off of.

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Against Reid's hopes but true to his expectations, Hotch was delighted to grant him vacation time to attend Allie's high school reunion. "That's great Reid, I'm really happy to hear you're doing this." Hotch responded after Reid told him why he was suddenly requesting vacation time.

"Well, that makes two, you and Allie," Reid replied.

"What do you mean," the unit chief inquired from behind the desk.

"You know me Hotch, and you know high school was not a happy time for me so why would I want to be reminded of it in any way." Reid explained his reasons at not being overjoyed by the upcoming festivities.

"Does Allie know this," Hotch probed?

"Oh yeah, but she's happy, she wants to see her friends again and she wants me to be with her. I figure she's stood by me with everything that's gone on; the least I can do is attend this little get together with her. She maintains that none of what happened to me should matter because we're all adults and none of them knew me before."

"I hope it works out like that. For what it's worth, I don't think Allie would suggest this if she thought it would hurt you in any way. The woman cares too much about you." Hotch gave Reid a little grin.

"Yeah, that's another thing. She's all excited for me to meet her parents. I don't know what to think of that." The young profiler's expression could only be described as pure terror, Hotch thought.

Hotch almost laughed, "Oh yes, that's always a big event, meeting the parents. I remember when Haley…" Hotch looked at his watch, "I suppose we should go find out what JJ's got for us this time." The two profilers headed down the hall toward the conference room.

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Reid sat on the plane on the way home from Boston. They had been investigating the disappearance and, as they discovered later, deaths of a number of elderly people. The unsub, Raymond Garland, had abducted elderly people who appeared alone with no family and killed them, then continued to collect their pension checks.

Garland had lived with his grandmother who, although not wealthy, had a fairly comfortable bank account which she refused to touch, much to Raymond's dismay, choosing instead to have them live meagerly on her small pension. On her death Raymond was disappointed to find her estate had been left to a charity. The man snapped and started to abduct elderly citizens for their pension income. Their rotting corpses were found in a cellar underneath his grandmother's home. Now Raymond would again be taken care of, by the state.

Reid was thinking about his upcoming trip with Allie and his conversation with Hotch. It was common knowledge within the team now, that Haley had left Hotch. The FBI and the BAU in particular did not have a very good track record as far as lasting relationships went. Reid wondered what his chances for a lasting relationship with Allie were if a great marriage like Hotch and Haley's couldn't survive. For once the odds escaped him.

"Hey Doc, what's goin on in that big ol head of yours," Morgan, who was sitting across from him, asked as he removed his ear buds of his I-Pod from his ears. "You look like you're thinking pretty heavily about something."

He told his friend about the high school reunion and Allie wanting him to meet her parents. "Ooh hoo, meeting the parents, it's getting serious now man, if she's dragging you off to meet her parents."

"Thanks Morgan, I wasn't antsy enough about it before talking to you," Reid replied sarcastically.

"Come on Reid, think about it man, what mom and dad are not gonna love you, I mean, what's not to love, right." Morgan tried to ease his partner's anxiety.

"Well, maybe a parent who's afraid of his or her daughter's boyfriend inheriting schizophrenia and doing who the hell knows what. Maybe the fact that I'm in the BAU and very few of our relationships last. Look at the team, nobody has a good relationship. Even Hotch and Haley, if they can't make it…"

"Hey, don't go there kid and what you just said about nobody on the team having a good relationship, maybe you should look in the mirror. You're the one on the team with the good relationship. You have a good woman who loves you. She's in the FBI so she understands. She's proven that she can handle your intellect and your family. It doesn't hurt that she's beautiful. Don't think for one minute that we all don't envy what you have." Morgan finished, laying it out plainly for the young profiler.

"Thanks Morgan, I didn't look at it that way. But I'm still nervous about meeting Mr. and Mrs. Graham."

Reid turned again to look out the window, pondering the other matter that was weighing on his mind, Evan's desire to see their father. He knew Evan was angry that he ignored his request to visit their dad in favor of going to the reunion with Allie. He also knew Allie meant well, encouraging him to take his brother to Leavenworth and in almost any other case, she'd be right but neither she nor Evan knew about the severe beating their father had taken at the hands of his fellow inmates. Neither realized the chances that were being taken if he showed up at the prison. He wanted to do what was right for his family and that included his brother and his father.

Allie was always getting on his case for overprotecting Evan and perhaps he was he mused. Was he overcompensating for his own nonexistent childhood? Was this how he would be if he ever had children of his own he wondered? Would he be so afraid that their childhood would be like his, that he would smother them in an effort to protect them from the bad in this world? It was times like these that he missed Gideon's quiet counsel.

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"Okay, on Thursday night there's a meet and greet at the hotel, then on Friday there's the luncheon and football game. Saturday night's the dinner and dance where we really get to party. Then Sunday we're spending the day with my parents. Doesn't that sound great? I can't wait for you to meet my best friend Chantal and her husband Mark," Allie babbled, excited about the nearing reunion.

Why, Reid wondered, was he always suspicious when people used party as a verb? What he said was, "Yeah it sounds great."

"My parents are expecting us Wednesday night, late," Allie continued.

"What do you mean, they're expecting us?"

"Well, that's where we're staying, Silly," she chirped in reply.

"Staying," Reid squeaked, "Oh no, I can't stay at your parents place. I don't even know them. Where would I sleep, with you? I wouldn't be comfortable with that and I don't think your parents would either."

"You could always stay in my brother's room, he's away at college."

"Listen, I really don't feel comfortable staying with your parents. I'd rather stay at a hotel and just go to visit them." Reid stated, flatly refusing to give on this point.

"Okay, we'll stay at a hotel, but Mom and Dad won't be happy about it. That is if we can get a hotel room with the reunion on."

"Already booked it. I used my FBI status, it opens doors sometimes," he said as he headed for the door. He gave Allie a quick kiss saying he'd see her later and was gone.

Allie leaned against her door. "Well, we may not be staying at my parents but that doesn't matter. Dr. Reid," she said with a chuckle, "Be prepared to be mothered."


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds

A/N: Thanks again to all those who read and reviewed

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Reid exited the elevator on the sixth floor of the FBI building in Quantico. The day was bright and sunny which was mirrored in JJ's appearance as she greeted him cheerfully despite the fact that her arms were loaded down with files. "Good morning Spence, lovely day out there."

"Morning JJ, yeah it's nice," Reid replied absentmindedly. "Ah, do you need some help with those," he indicated the stack of files she held.

"No thanks, I got it covered. So many cases, I have to decide which one we tackle next."

"So anything really interesting?"

"Oh no you don't, you're on consults today and nothing more. You're leaving this afternoon for Ohio. I don't even know why you came in today anyway." JJ remarked as they made their way towards the bullpen.

"Well better here where I could do some good than at home doing nothing," Reid replied arriving at his desk and setting his messenger bag on the floor.

"Hey man, you still fretting about meeting the Grahams," Morgan interjected, approaching them with a mug of steaming coffee in his hands. He sipped the brew as he leaned on his desk eyeing his friend.

"I wouldn't say fretting, Morgan," Reid said in response to the older profiler's usual ribbing.

"I would, you should see your face." Emily added as she followed closely behind Morgan with a mug in her hands as well.

"Alright, that's enough; don't we have something a little more productive to do?" Hotch said with authority as he and Rossi walked through the bullpen on the way to their offices. The three profilers turned to the stack of files on their desks and settled down to their tasks while JJ continued to her office, still lugging the stack of files that carried people's destinies.

"Looks like Reid's really getting the gears about meeting his girlfriend's family. Boy's gotta loosen up." Rossi told Hotch as they mounted the stairs to their offices.

"Couldn't agree with you more Dave. Couldn't agree with you more.

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Reid's SUV had just passed the road sign announcing the couple had entered Fairfield County, an indication their six hour drive from Washington, DC to Lancaster, Ohio was almost at an end. Reid had wanted to fly but Allie had insisted it would be more fun to drive. They had left mid afternoon and taken turns at the wheel.

The traffic on the I-70 had not been heavy and they had made good time, stopping in Clarksburg to have dinner. Allie, as Reid expected, was a good traveling companion. She was interested in the scenery and pointing out things of interest or singing off key to CDs or songs on the radio. Her easy going nature helped to quell a few of the butterflies that were running rampant in Reid's stomach as they neared their destination.

Allie told him that, as she suspected, her mother was not thrilled that they had chosen to stay in a hotel but said she understood Reid's reluctance to stay in their home although she stressed he was welcome. He hoped it would not start them off on the wrong foot.

Allie was talking to her mother on her cell phone, "Yeah, we'll be there shortly, we're just coming to the Granville/Lancaster exit." There was silence as she listened to her mother. "What kind of a surprise? You kill me when you do that Mom, okay see you soon. Love you. Bye."

"They can't wait for us to get there," she said closing her phone and putting it in her purse. "Mom says she's got a surprise for me. It's probably chocolate fudge brownies, my favorite. Mom makes the best brownies in the world, which is not really a good thing. I'm liable to eat too many and put on twenty pounds. And then I'd…"

"Still be beautiful." Reid said from behind the wheel.

"He speaks! You've been awfully quiet for a while."

"Considering I haven't been able to get a word in for the last, oh," he looked at the odometer, "Fifty miles."

"Sorry, I'm just excited. I guess I tend to babble but I'm really worried about the brownies. I have to fit into my dress for Saturday night. It's new and it's sure to knock your mismatched socks off Dr. Reid. Turn right at this exit."

"I'm sure you don't have to worry and you'll be beautiful, you always are because you're beautiful in here," he touched her chest in the general vicinity of her heart.

"Hey keep your hands to yourself bucko and keep your eyes on the road." Allie said teasingly, then whispered in his ear. "But remember that for later."

Soon they entered the picturesque town of Lancaster, Ohio. Allie directed him through the streets until they came to Oakbluff Road. Allie told him to pull into the third house from the corner, a spacious two story with a three car garage.

Reid felt his pulse quicken as they got out of the SUV and the butterflies that had lessened somewhat, once again invaded his stomach. He had the urge to get back into his vehicle and hightail it out of there but he knew he could not do that. He would do nothing, he swore to himself, to disappoint the woman standing beside him, sliding her soft hand in his.

"Ready," she said softly.

Reid nodded, unable to find his voice at that moment. They walked up the sidewalk hand in hand and Allie opened the front door, calling out, "Hi, we're here."

A middle aged couple appeared from what Reid assumed was the living room. The woman, who was a little shorter than Allie, had a warm face and short auburn hair. She opened her arms to accept her daughter. Allie went happily into the outstretched arms. The man was medium height with dark brown hair. He too smiled warmly at his daughter and caught her in a tight hug. Reid stood off to the side silently sizing up the people who had given the world this wonderful young woman.

"Oh, Mom, Dad," she turned toward Reid, "I'd like you to meet Doc…" Allie was stopped by her mother's words and a hand on her arm.

"Could you hold off for just a moment Honey, we have a surprise."

"But Mom," she turned and shrugged at Spencer as her mother grabbed her hand and headed into the room they'd just appeared from.

Reid saw Allie's eyes and mouth open wide and she was quickly enveloped in a huge hug by a woman a little older than Allie, a man a little younger and an elderly couple.

"Chelsea, Dylan, and Grandma and Grandpa, oh my God."

The butterflies were now swarming, unchecked.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds

A/N: Thanks to everybody who continues to read and review. It's great to hear from you all.

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"What a surprise, I had no idea you all would be here." Allie said to the group assembled in her parents' living room.

"Well sis," Dylan said, "You don't come home all that often and Mom said you were bringing this guy you're always talking about."

"Oh my gosh, Spencer," Allie turned to find Reid standing in the entrance where she had left him. She took his hand and squeezed it. "Come meet my family."

Reid found himself being pulled into the living room. It was a homey room with a comfortable looking couch and love seat upholstered in black leather but with brightly colored quilts and afghans resting on the back, giving the room a punch of color as did the bold artwork on the walls. A stone fireplace graced one wall, flanked on both sides by floor to ceiling mahogany bookcases that were filled to capacity and his eyes were immediately drawn to them. Two comfy rocking chairs sat in front of the fireplace. A plush oversized armchair sat invitingly on the other side of the couch. In the daytime light spilled in from a large bay window at the front of the house. There were family pictures on the mantle while plants and personal ornaments adorned the room and Reid could tell that this room was often occupied and much loved by those living in the home. The room was occupied now by more Grahams than Reid had expected.

"Everybody, this is Dr. Spencer Reid." Allie indicated Reid with her hand. "Spencer, this is my Dad, Lloyd and my Mom, Joan."

Reid shook hands with Allie's father, "Pleased to meet you sir," he turned to Joan Graham, "Nice to meet you too Mrs. Graham."

"There'll be none of that around here son, I'm Lloyd and this is Joan."

Joan took one of Reid's hands in both of hers. "Oh my, we are so glad you've come to our home at last. We've so wanted to meet the young man our daughter's so fond of."

"Oh, can we please get on with this, I'm seventy-eight years old, I don't have forever," the elderly man said, breaking in on Joan's greeting and taking Reid's hand. "I'm Charlie, Lloyd's Dad, that's my wife Marion," he pointed to the small elderly woman with gray hair, who stepped forward and smiled and nodded at Reid. "Those two scalawags over there are Lloyd and Joan's other two, Chelsea and Dylan." Allie's siblings approached Reid and shook hands.

"Nice to meet you," Chelsea said, "My sister has told us all about you."

"Now, you come and sit down. I'll go make some coffee. Allie says you love your coffee. You could probably use it after that drive. Have you eaten?" Joan asked, while leading Reid to the black leather couch.

"Please, Mrs. Graham, don't go to any trouble on my account. We had dinner in Clarksburg."

"Oh, don't you worry about her, my boy, she's never happier than when she's looking after people," Lloyd explained to Reid. He looked at Allie and added, "Why don't you go help your mother while we get acquainted with your beau."

Allie seemed about to refuse her father as she looked at the obviously uncomfortable Reid whose facial expression was that of a man who'd been thrown to the wolves. "Go on Honey, we won't eat him, I promise."

Allie went in the direction her mother had gone, leaving Spencer to face the inquisition. "So, Allie tells us you're an FBI agent," Charlie enquired.

"Yes sir," Reid replied, "I'm a behavioral analyst."

"What exactly is that," Chelsea wanted to know?

"Well, we study crimes and try to predict through analyzing the criminal's behavior, where he would likely strike next and try to prevent that from happening. It's more commonly known as a profiler."

"So, you deal with like serial killers and what not," Dylan asked?

"Yes, we deal mostly with serial killers, sometimes with child abductions, that sort of thing," Reid said, starting to feel more comfortable when he was talking about his work, an area where he felt confident.

"Allie, stop pacing about and put some cups and small plates on that tray for me, what is the matter with you." Joan looked questioningly at her daughter, who seemed more interested in what was going on in the living room than helping get the coffee ready.

"It's just that I wish I was in there. Spencer is a really shy guy and you know how Dad can be. Sometimes when he talks to people he forgets that he hasn't got them under oath on the witness stand."

"Honey, I'm sure your young man can handle it. He handles pretty heavy stuff every day in his job, I'm sure he can handle Lloyd and Charlie."

"Allie says you're from Las Vegas," Charlie looked at Reid.

"Ah, yes sir, that's correct." Reid said, hoping this was not going any further.

"Are your family still out there dear," Marion questioned, "It's an awfully long way from home for you."

"My mother is still in Las Vegas but my father is no longer there."

Chelsea spoke from one of the rockers beside the fireplace, "So where does he live, your Dad?"

"My Dad," Reid looked around for the nearest exit, an open window, anything, but escape seemed impossible and Allie would be upset to return from the kitchen to find he'd bolted. "My Dad is presently living in Kansas."

"Whereabouts in Kansas. I was there for a while as a young man before Marion and I moved to Columbus. A nice place is Kansas. So where does your Dad live in Kansas?"

"Um, my father is in Leavenworth." Reid mumbled hoping that no one would pick up on it.

"Did you say Leavenworth," Dylan asked, "You mean where the penitentiary is? Does your Dad work in the prison system?"

"Ah, no, he doesn't. I guess you could say he's a guest at Leavenworth." Reid kept his eyes on his shoes, hoping the Grahams did not see the red that he knew had crept into his face.

"He's an inmate," Lloyd said, shock evident as his voice rose.

"Yes," was all Reid could bring himself to say.

"Leavenworth," Lloyd continued, "That's maximum security. He must have committed a major offense to wind up there."

"He tried to kill someone," Reid informed Allie's father.

"Attempted murder, but that doesn't usually constitute incarceration at Leavenworth. He must have tried to kill somebody important. Who did he try to kill?"

Reid continued to look at the floor, "Me!"

The silence in the Graham living room was so loud, it was deafening. The family all looked from one to the other. What did you say to someone who just told you his father tried to kill him? Everything that came to mind seemed inadequate. Finally Marion spoke. "That must have been very hard for you dear, how about your Mom, you said she's still in Las Vegas," Marion considered she was moving on to a more comfortable topic.

Reid glanced briefly at the elderly woman. Bless her heart, he thought, she had no way of knowing that this avenue of questioning headed down the same slippery slope as the last. "Yes," Reid decided to get it over with now. If these people were so eager to learn about his family then by God, they would know. "My mother is a patient in a sanitarium in Las Vegas, Bennington Sanitarium. She's been there for the last eight years. She suffers from paranoid schizophrenia and needs around the clock care."

Reid heard the silence once again and saw the looks on the faces of the Graham family. He had seen those looks all his life. People never knew what to say. If you said your mother had cancer or MS or some other disease they would be appropriately sympathetic but they would talk to you about it, but mental illness held such a stigma that no one wanted to broach the subject with you. As a child, he'd seen children cross to the other side of the street to avoid walking in front of their house. He'd seen the looks he got from people, looks that said 'Dude lives with a crazy person'.

The women returned from the kitchen to find the living room in silence, everyone seeming to find the floor interesting. Allie carried a tray with cups, plates, cream and sugar and a large dish of the much anticipated chocolate fudge brownies while Joan carried the coffee pot. Allie stopped dead, looking around the room, "What, what," she put the tray down on the coffee table and sat next to Reid, taking his hand and looking at her family. "What did you all say to him?"

"Boy was just telling us about his parents." Charlie told his granddaughter.

"Well, that's nice," Joan interjected, unaware of the conversation that had played out in her absence, but wondered why everyone looked so sullen.

Allie stood up saying to her father, "You couldn't leave well enough alone, could you. You had to go meddling into his life like it was some cross examination."

"Now just a minute young lady, we just asked about his parents, we didn't know it was off limits. How were we supposed to know his father was in prison and his mother was in a mental institution?" Lloyd stood in front of his irate daughter getting a little hot under the collar himself.

Joan stood, still holding the coffee pot, watching the exchange and trying to remember if she'd ever heard Allie speak to her father like that. Her mouth was gaping open at the revelation about Spencer's parents.

Reid finally stood up, taking Allie's hand. "Allie, it's okay, your Dad's right, they had no way of knowing I had such a dysfunctional family. I don't want you to fight with your father over me." He turned to Joan, "Mrs. Graham, thank you for the thoughtfulness of the coffee but I think it would be better if I left now. I really don't want to cause any dissention in the family. It was nice to meet you all." His look swept to the others in the room. He turned and left the living room and they heard the front door close quietly.

Tears started to cascade down Allie's face and her father reached out to her. She backed away from his touch like she'd been burned. "Don't touch me," she screamed. "I hate you. I hate you all." She turned and ran from the room.

Reid was pacing by the driver's side of the SUV when Allie came out the front door. "I'm so sorry. They should never have treated you that way."

"You have nothing to be sorry for and neither does your family. How were they supposed to react? The reaction to my mother is one I've seen all my life. I guess the reaction about my father is one I'm going to have to get used to. Don't blame your family, it's not their fault my family is so strange." He took her hand and looked her in the eye, "I think you should stay here and I'll stay at the hotel."

"Spencer, no, why would I do that. I want to be with you. I want to sleep with you. I want to wake up with you," she put her hand on his cheek.

"Look, you have to make up with your family and they have to know that I have your best interests at heart. If you come with me your Dad will spend the night pacing the floor wondering if at some point I'll turn into a psychotic murderer. You have to stay with them and talk to them even if it's just for tonight. I don't want to come between you and your family." He clicked the remote and the back of the SUV opened. He removed Allie's bags and put them on the front step, "I'll talk to you in the morning." He kissed her briefly on the lips. She watched as he got in the SUV and drove into the night, tears falling down her cheeks unchecked. She stood there for a long time before eventually collecting her bags and entering her parents' home.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds; no copyright infringement is intended.

A/N: Thanks again to all those who continue to stick with the story. I enjoy hearing from all of you.

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Allie shuffled slowly down the hardwood stairs. She had told her family that once she'd stored her things in her room, she would talk to them.

She thought about Spencer, alone in some hotel room in a town where he didn't know anyone but her. She should be with him, instead of here in her family home. She was closer to him than she'd ever been to any family member.

She reached the bottom of the staircase and turned into the living room. Her mother rose when she entered. "Sweetheart, I'm so sorry for what happened with Spencer. Nobody meant to be rude to him. I think everybody was just so surprised, they didn't quite know what to say."

"So there will be no more surprises, I'm going to tell you about Spencer Reid." And she did. She told them about the boy genius, always in school with children much older than him. She told them about the boy who had few friends and was isolated by his intellect. She told them about the boy whose father left him to care for a schizophrenic mother and take on adult responsibilities at the age of ten. She told them about the boy who was bullied and beaten in school. She told them about the boy who graduated at twelve and was in university by thirteen.

She told them about the man, who was barely a man, putting his mother in an institution at eighteen. She told them about the man who had three doctorates and was let into the FBI at barely twenty-one when the regulations said twenty-three. She told them about the people whose lives he saved when he put a bullet into Phillip Dowd's forehead. She told them about the man who had been kidnapped by an unsub, who'd been beaten and tortured and asked to choose people to die. She told them about the man who was asked to choose a teammate to die while a madman played Russian roulette with his life. She told them about the man who was drugged repeatedly but managed to keep his wits about him and send a message to his team. She told them about the man who killed his captor, battled drugs in the aftermath of the kidnapping and continued to suffer the effects of PTSD.

She told them about the man whose father came looking for him to get a bone marrow transplant for a son he'd had with another wife, a bone marrow transplant he willingly gave, saving the boy's life. She told them about the man who stood by his little brother through numerous changes in the boy's life. She told them about the man who saved his little brother from a killer.

She told them about the man with the eidetic memory who could read twenty thousand words a minute. She told them about the man who knew something about every subject under the rainbow. She told them about the man who could count cards and do magic tricks. She told them about the man with twinkling eyes, a radiant smile, a terrific sense of humor and a terrible sense of fashion. And she told them that she loved him.

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Reid sat in his hotel room staring at the walls. This wasn't the first time he'd sat in a hotel room alone. With his job, he did it quite often so he was used to it. In those times, though, he usually had a case to occupy his mind. He hadn't expected to be alone in this hotel room, in this town. He thought Allie would be with him. At least she was occupying his mind.

Had he overreacted, he wondered? What was one expected to say in response to what he had revealed. He just hadn't wanted Allie to fight with her family over him. Tomorrow was the start of the reunion activities. If the rest of the weekend went like tonight, they were in big trouble.

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Joan Graham came out of the kitchen after setting the coffee to brew. Lloyd and Charlie were in the living room reading the paper. Dylan was doing some reading for school. Chelsea was in the shower and Marion was knitting in the sunroom. Allie's door was still closed. Joan had knocked on it earlier but Allie said she didn't want to get up yet. She had to do something, Joan thought, going into the purse that Allie had left in the entryway and taking out her cell phone. She looked at the menu and pressed speed dial.

Reid had just come out of the shower and was towel drying his hair when his cell rang. He looked at the call display and smiled. "Good morning, beautiful."

"And good morning to you too," said a voice he didn't recognize.

"Ah, who…who is this," Reid asked nervously?

"Well, not beautiful, obviously," the voice laughed. "It's Joan Graham, how are you this morning Spencer?"

"Oh, Mrs….Mrs. Graham," Reid said, looking down at the towel wrapped around him as if she could see him. "I…I'm fine and you?" He squinted his eyes shut. _That was brilliant conversation Einstein!_

"Well, I've had better nights. I'm sorry things got off on the wrong foot yesterday. I really hated hearing my daughter cry herself to sleep."

"I'm sorry for leaving the way I did. What I said was probably shocking to everyone. I realized when your family started asking me questions that Allie hadn't told you about my childhood. I just didn't want Allie to argue with her Dad over me."

"Well anyway, she told us last night and today's a new day," she said brightly. "Perhaps we could start fresh. Would you join us for breakfast?"

"That's very kind of you," Reid replied. "Is it alright with your husband?"

"Of course, it's fine with him, we'll see you shortly then. Bye for now." She closed the cell phone saying, "Well it will be fine with him when I tell him."

Reid got out of the SUV and headed for the front door of the Graham house and was about to ring the bell when the door opened and he was unceremoniously pulled into the entryway by Joan Graham. Reid started to speak but Joan put a finger to her lips. Lloyd, Charlie and Dylan appeared from the living room while Chelsea and Marion appeared at the kitchen door.

"Allie, dear, I really think you should come and have some breakfast," Joan yelled up the stairs.

"I told you, I don't want any breakfast," was yelled from somewhere on the second floor.

"Allie, if I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times, I do not like to be spoken to through walls and doors. If you have something to say come out and say it to my face."

The group could hear some stomping going on upstairs and then, loudly; "I…said… I…don't…want… any… break…" the speaking stopped abruptly as the young woman appeared at the top of the stairs, seeing the assembled group for the first time.

Reid looked up the stairs and saw his Allie. She had no make up on. Her shaggy mop of brown hair was going in every conceivable direction. She wore his old terrycloth robe, open, that fell almost to the floor on her. Beneath that was one of his old Harvard T shirts and on her feet she had mismatched socks. She was beautiful.

Dylan snickered, "Geez sis, you look…"

"Utterly breathtaking," Reid completed as Allie raced down the stairs, the robe flying behind her like a cape or angel's wings.

"Hi Honey," she said throwing her arms around Reid.

"Hi, you okay," he asked, looking into her eyes.

"I am now," she stated, smiling her most radiant smile.

"She's right about one thing," Dylan added, "Guy's got no sense of fashion if he thinks broom Hilda there is breathtaking," at which point his father cuffed him on the head. "Ow, what'd I do?"

"Come on, let's go into the breakfast room and leave these two alone," Lloyd said, shepherding the family out of the entryway and winking at his daughter as he passed.

Reid held Allie at arm's length, "Why do these things never look that good on me," he said, eyeing the woman in front of him.

"They do look good on you Sweetie, but they look better off you," she winked, pulling him toward the breakfast room.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds

A/N: Thanks to all who read and reviewed, you guys are the best!

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Reid entered the breakfast room, a sunny area off the kitchen, to find the Graham men seated around the large table while the women were milling about fetching things from the kitchen. Spencer could not believe the feast displayed before him. There was fresh fruit, eggs, bacon, sausages, hash browns, waffles and biscuits fresh from the oven.

"Come on Spencer," Joan said, leading him to a chair, "You sit here. Chelsea, get Spencer some orange juice."

"Right Ma," Chelsea replied, tuning back toward the kitchen.

"Marion made those biscuits especially for you," Joan added, passing the basket to Reid.

"My mom makes the best biscuits in the world. Joan and the girls have tried but they can't touch Mom's," Lloyd informed Reid.

"That's very nice of you Mrs. Graham." He looked at Allie's grandmother. "I hope you didn't go to all this trouble on my account," Reid stated, still amazed at the spread before him.

"Are you kidding," Dylan remarked, "Of course they did, if it had been just Dad and me, we woulda got a bowl of cereal," to which he was once again cuffed on the head, this time by his mother. "Ow, Mom, okay, I'm shuttin' up already." Reid had to smirk, Dylan reminded him of an older version of Evan.

"So," Lloyd asked, "What do you two plan to do today?"

"That's mentionable at the breakfast table of course," Charlie added.

Reid and Allie both blushed, "Grandpa," Allie shouted. "I'm going to show Spencer around Lancaster," she added, "And later there's the meet and greet at the hotel."

"Don't forget to show him the Glass Museum and the Sherman House Museum," Joan said, finally sitting at the table. "Spencer, have you got any eggs there, oh and don't forget hash browns. Have another biscuit."

"You should show him the covered bridges too," Lloyd suggested.

"Oh, and the Georgean Museum, I don't know if you're interested in the civil war at all Spencer. There's a lot of interesting things there if you are," Chelsea interjected.

Allie finished her eggs and jumped up. "I'll go shower and change and we can get started on the day." She mussed Reid's hair as she dashed from the room and up the stairs.

"Somebody's spirits really picked up in a hurry." Dylan got death looks from both parents. "Alright, alright, I'm shuttin' up." He dug into the food on his plate.

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Reid and Allie returned to the hotel after a day spent exploring the sights of Lancaster. Reid was very impressed with Allie's hometown. Now they had to get ready for the meet and greet, luckily it was in the same hotel where their room was booked.

As Allie came out of the bathroom after getting ready for the evening, they looked at each other and laughed. They both wore the same things they'd worn on their first date. "Always love you in that leather." Allie told him as she put her arms around his neck and kissed him.

"Mmm, I love you in…and out of just about anything," he replied.

"You are a naughty boy, Dr. Reid. Come on, let's go meet my friends."

They headed for the convention hall which was filling with the alumni of Mount Pleasant High School class of 2002.

Allie was looking around the room when she suddenly spotted the person she was looking for. "Chantal," she shouted and ran with her arms open across the room to a blond woman approaching in a similar fashion. The two friends embraced saying how glad they were to see each other. "Oh my gosh, look at you," Allie said touching the expanding belly of her friend who was obviously pregnant.

"Yeah, we're getting along, one month to go," her friend replied.

"I'm getting so excited. I can hardly wait. Have you picked out any names…"

A medium height man with light brown hair was standing behind Chantal. He reached around the babbling women holding out his hand. "Mark Jeffries, Chantal's husband. You must be the FBI guy."

Reid shook hands with the man, "Yes, Spencer Reid. Congratulations on your upcoming parenthood."

"Thanks, I was really freaked out at first when Chantal said she wanted to get pregnant. I thought we were great the way we were but you know women, they get this nesting complex or something and they've got to have a baby or they won't be complete. You'll find out. She's gonna want one one of these days." He pointed a finger at Allie and Reid hoped his face didn't show the terror he felt at Mark's statement but feared it did when Mark said, "On that note, let me introduce you to the most important man in the room."

"Who's that," Reid asked?

"The bartender."

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Mark and Reid were walking about the convention hall, their drinks in their hands and Mark was pointing out various triumphs of his graduating class. The state high school football championships, he'd been on the team as a place kicker, the Quiz Bowl team that got to the semi finals. Allie had been on the team, Mark pointed out and Reid looked closely at the photo, recognizing the young Allie. Her hair was long then and parted in the middle. He smiled at the young carefree girl in the picture.

He and Mark moved along and came to a tribute on one wall that said In Memoriam. There were pictures of seven students on the wall. "Well there's a bunch that never made it to the reunion," Mark said somberly.

"I'm sorry," Reid said, "Were you close to them?"

"I was close to a couple of the guys when we were in high school. Of course, you lose touch when you go off to different colleges."

"Did they die in a car accident together or something?" Reid asked, curious that a small high school class had lost seven members already.

"No," Mark informed him, "They all died of different things."

"What kind of things," Reid asked, his radar was alerted and he didn't like what it was telling him.

"Well, Darcy Kullman," he pointed to the first picture, "She died in a car accident. Pam McPhee, she died of anaphylactic shock. She was allergic to mushrooms and somehow she unknowingly ate one one day and bang, she's gone. Drake Holloway died in a hunting accident and Laurel Jamison was attacked by a mugger. Lorne Kemp," he continued to point at the pictures, "He had a heart attack. Brian Dalton drowned and Marla Felstead died of food poisoning, botulism."

"Hey Mark," yelled a man from across the room, "You old dog, I been looking all over for you."

Mark turned and smiled, "Colin, well how are you buddy," he went off with his friend leaving Reid staring at the pictures of Allie's deceased classmates. Something was wrong, things did not add up statistically at all. Something was very wrong. He pulled out his cell phone and hit speed dial, "Hi Garcia…"


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: The usual disclaimer applies.

A/N: Thanks again to all who continue to stick with the story. You're great!

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"There you are," Allie said, coming up to Reid just as he was getting off the phone with Garcia. "Who were you talking to?"

"We have to talk," he said, pulling her to an unoccupied corner table and sitting down.

"Don't you dare tell me that was Hotch and there's a case. You're on vacation, remember."

"No, it wasn't Hotch." Reid looked at her, unable to hide the concern on his face.

"What's wrong; did something happen to someone on the team?" Allie was starting to get concerned as well.

"Okay, listen closely; you're probably not going to like what I have to tell you." Allie nodded and Reid carried on. "I was looking at the pictures of your classmates who died and something's not right. The statistics don't support this many deaths in this age range from such a small body as your graduating class. The CODs, it's strange they would die in such a varied manner. Botulism, the chance of your friend dying from botulism is 1 in 2,000,000. This Pam McPhee, did everybody know she was allergic to mushrooms?"

"Oh yeah, everybody knew," Allie told him. "Her parents thought it was a safety precaution if everyone knew. Then we would be extra vigilant for anything with mushrooms. She had an Epi pen. We all knew how to use it if we had to."

"That's what I'm saying. She was extremely vigilant so as not to ingest anything that might harm her." His mind flashed back to Ozona Texas and the duct taped milk and creamed spinach containers. "But somehow she ate something that she wouldn't expect to contain mushrooms. Where was her Epi pen? People with these types of allergies always have them within easy reach. Why couldn't she get to hers?"

"Spencer, what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that I don't think these deaths are accidents, at least not all of them. I was on the phone with Garcia. I've got her researching autopsy reports and any investigations."

"Oh come on Honey, you can't really believe that someone is killing these people. Laurel wasn't even in Ohio when she was mugged, she was in New York. Brian was in Florida." Allie looked at Reid skeptically.

"You probably think I'm nuts," Reid said, looking nervously at Allie.

"No, don't ever say that. It seems just too bizarre that this could happen. I mean, why?" Allie was still hesitant in supporting Reid's suspicions.

"That's what I have to find out. If there's a reason that someone's killing the people in your class, you do realize we've got a serial killer on our hands. I'll have to call the team."

"Okay, wait, hold on just a minute." Allie demanded, raising her palm in the stop position. "I can hardly believe what you're saying but I know you and I know you don't think like the rest of the population, so although I don't really agree, you got me on pure faith but the Lancaster Police Department, how are you going to convince them?"

"I don't have to convince them," Reid said emphatically.

"Why not," Allie was confused, "I thought the police had to request your services?"

"Normally that's true," Reid explained. "However in this case, since two of the deaths occurred outside Ohio, the killer, if there is one, crossed state lines and it's automatically a federal case." Reid's cell rang, "Reid, hi Garcia, what have you got for me?"

"Well, my junior G man, you might be on to something. Okay your girl Pam with the mushrooms, autopsy report COD anaphylactic shock. Died in the park. Mushroom extract or powder in her stomach but no actual mushrooms. Stomach contents, ham sandwich and coffee. They were unable to get any fast food containers. There were a lot of people in the park and then the paramedics and everything so no evidence of foul play. They found her purse but no Epi pen."

"Your girl, Marla, with botulism, I checked like you asked to see if they went over all the foodstuffs in her house looking for clostridium botulinum and they did. All negative."

Garcia continued, "Lorne Kemp, your heart attack victim, not a high risk candidate. Not overweight, no hypertension, not a smoker, grandfather died of a heart attack though."

"Garcia, did they test for potassium chloride," Reid asked?

"Negative, Sweetcheeks. Carrying on, Brian Dalton, your drowning victim had a gash on his head. It was assumed he had hit his head on the side of the pool and knocked himself out, causing him to drown. There was no reason to suspect foul play."

"Your car accident, Darcy Kullman, was high as a kite on cocaine. She lost control of her vehicle; hit a huge tree head on. No seat belt and her airbag failed to deploy. At least she only killed herself and didn't take any innocent people with her. No sign of foul play there either."

"Laurel, your mugging victim in New York was just that, a mugging victim in New York, it's so commonplace. They wrote it up, of course, and went through the motions but now it's at the bottom of a pile of unsolved homicides."

"Your hunter was part of a party of four. None of their weapons killed your man. They figure it was a stray bullet from another hunter who didn't even realize he'd hit someone. They did a cursory investigation but that led nowhere and they classified it as an accidental shooting."

"There you have it Sweetie, let me know if you need anything else."

"Thanks Garcia, great work as usual." He ended the call and turned to Allie. "Well, I gotta call Hotch. I think we're dealing with a serial killer who's after the Mount Pleasant Class of 2002 and I'm in a room full of them. He might be with us as we speak."

He punched speed dial on his cell and waited. "Hotchner."

"Hi Hotch, it's Reid."

"Yes Reid, what is this call in aid of? You're on vacation, remember." Hotch spoke impatiently.

"Sorry Hotch," Reid said, "I know you're probably busy but I've come across a situation here that I think could use our attention. He went on to explain about the seven fatalities from Allie's class and his suspicions. Hotch told Reid he'd get the team together and he'd let him know.

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"These cases all look totally unconnected. The only thing they have in common is they were all students in Allie's class. The CODs are all different. Two even occurred in different states. There's no real hard evidence of foul play except in the mugging. Do you really think we've got a serial killer here Hotch," Morgan asked skeptically.

"I don't know but Reid thinks so and nobody is better at seeing patterns than Reid. Look at Tony and Amber Carnado in Florida. Reid figured out that she'd had another partner before her husband. That's what turned the case around." Hotch said, looking expectantly at the group.

"So what you're saying is," Rossi summed it up for the team, "Do we go with the facts that say these deaths are unconnected accidents or do we go with Reid's gut?"

Garcia was the first to speak. "I'm not a profiler and I don't know if I get a vote on this but I'd go with Reid's gut."

"Your opinion is always considered, Garcia," Hotch replied.

"Okay, well, I'm not sure about the connection but the one thing I am sure about is Reid, I'm in," JJ stated.

"Count me in," Morgan added. "If Reid sees a pattern, that's good enough for me."

"This might be one of those situations where you need a genius to connect the dots and if that's the case, we have a genius, we should have faith in his judgment," Emily said. "I say we go."

Hotch turned to Rossi, "This could be a lot of work for nothing if they're unconnected accidents but Reid is very perceptive and there's almost nothing statistical he doesn't know. You all know your man a lot better than I do and if you feel it's prudent to go on his hunch, I'll go along."

"That leaves you Hotch," Morgan said and the team turned to look at the unit chief.

"Wheels up in one hour." Hotch turned and left the room to call Reid.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I still don't own Criminal Minds, my own is debatable some days.

A/N: Thanks again to all who continue to read and review and add the story to their alerts.

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The team managed to get a hospitality room in the hotel as a command post. JJ was in contact with the Lancaster Police Department and Detective Phil Hollis was bringing over all police reports and photos taken at the scenes of the various deaths. Morgan had contacted New York and all the information from that case was being faxed. Emily had likewise contacted Florida for all the investigative findings from Brian Dalton's drowning. Rossi spoke with the Noble County Sheriff's Department as Ales Run, the site of Drake Holloway's hunting fatality, was in their jurisdiction and their paperwork would be coming forthwith.

When Reid and Allie arrived at the hospitality room, they found it was buzzing with activity. Morgan was seated at the round table on the right side of the room going over a report. There were five unoccupied chairs around the table as well. On the far right hand wall was a counter top with a cupboard and mini fridge underneath. Atop the counter was a coffeemaker and dishes. Emily was just setting a pot to brew. Directly across from the doorway stood a desk topped with a computer and fax machine which was spitting out documents that JJ was removing. On the left hand side of the room was a couch, an armchair and a coffee table. Rossi was on the couch reading a report and Hotch sat in the armchair talking on his cell. To the right of the desk, the team had set up a cork board where pictures of the deceased were tacked up. Their high school yearbook photos and photos of how they looked before they died were displayed. Allie looked at the board and stopped suddenly, grabbing Reid's arm for support.

"Are you okay," Reid asked, putting his arm around her.

"No, not really," Allie said tearfully. "I know to you, these are victims, just part of your investigation. But I knew them and I was sad, you know, that they had died but now you've got them in the middle of this bizarre murder plot that I still don't really understand. You've got them displayed up there, just lying bare to the world. It's kind of, I don't know, cold. Sorry, it just hit me for a minute, I'll be okay."

Reid's mouth clamped into a grim line and he mentally kicked himself. God, he thought, how could he have been so insensitive as to not think that this would affect Allie. These were her friends, for God's sake. Her high school experience had been the opposite of his, she had enjoyed a happy time, for the most part, smattered, of course, with the usual teen angst and these people had been a part of that. Of course, she'd be upset!

"Allie," JJ approached her cautiously, putting an arm around her and nodding Reid away. Reid relinquished his hold and JJ took Allie to one of the chairs around the table. "I know this is very upsetting for you but the profilers have to work on victimology to find out why these people are being killed. It would be really helpful to have someone like you, who knew them, help us with that. Do you think you can do that Allie?" JJ nodded her head encouragingly at her friend.

Allie was quiet for a few moments and then responded, "Yeah, yeah, I think I can do that. What exactly do you need me to do?"

JJ looked over at Reid, "Allie we need to know about these people, what they were like, what they had in common. What made the unsub choose them?"

Allie looked at the pictures on the board. Darcy Kullman was the first death so her picture was in the first position. "Okay, well Darcy was a nice girl, kind of quiet and kept to herself. Is this the kind of thing you need to know," she asked the group, unsure.

"Yes, that's exactly what we need, who they were, what they did, who they hung around with." Reid told her, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Who did Darcy hang around with?"

"Well, nobody really, she was…she was…"

"She was what, Allie," Hotch asked?

"She was the target of a lot of bullying and bad behavior because she was overweight. She was a nice person but she didn't have any friends. She was my lab partner one semester for biology 101. She seemed glad to partner with me because I didn't tease her and I wasn't mad that I got stuck with her. She was actually pretty smart when she wasn't being picked on."

"What kind of behavior are you talking about Allie," Emily inquired?

"Well you know how some guys are. They always used to make remarks about her weight. They would make comments about anything she took on her tray in the cafeteria, even if it was salad. Finally she stopped coming to the cafeteria altogether and ate her lunch alone in an empty classroom. One day she went into the girls' bathroom and two guys followed her in to try and get a look at her and then one of them dressed up and put a pillow in front and two melons in a big bra and a wig in her hair color and paraded around the hallway. Everybody laughed."

"Who did this Allie," Reid said angrily, "Who was the jerk that did this to that girl?"

"It was Brian Dalton," Allie replied.

"Brian Dalton, the drowning victim from Florida," Emily asked?

"Yeah, that's him. He always thought he was something special. He asked me out once and I went even though I didn't like him that much, but he was quite popular," she added by way of explanation. "Anyway, when we were in the movie theater, he was all over me. He kept trying to feel me up and open my blouse. Finally, I elbowed him in the chin and took off. He never spoke to me again." She looked up at Reid who squeezed her hand.

"That's my girl," he said and she smiled at him.

The fax machine had spit out more reports from New York, Florida and Noble County. The group of profilers went over the files while JJ talked with Allie.

"Okay, it says here that Laurel was stabbed in the chest. Apparently she bled out. Her purse was found near her body but the money was gone. No prints except hers and numerous smudges. All the blood at the scene was hers. Medium velocity spatter, so it was a fairly vicious attack." Morgan read from the NYPD report. He handed the crime scene photos to Reid. "Here Doc, you're liable to make more out of this than the rest of us."

Reid looked closely at the photos and when he was done, he said, "There are no defensive wounds on the body so it was either a blitz attack and she had no time to defend herself or she knew her attacker and felt he meant her no harm. Judging from the size of the blood drops, a great deal of force was used, more than would be appropriate for a simple mugging. This attacker didn't want to just hurt Laurel to get her to hand over her money, he wanted to kill her. By the angle of the impact, we know he's right handed and I'd say about 5' 10", again judging by the size of the cast off drops." He was careful to keep the graphic photos from Allie's view.

"Reid," Rossi said, trying to understand the young profiler's train of thought, "What is your reasoning behind thinking this is the work of a single killer."

"When I saw the seven pictures, it struck me how statistically opposed it was for this class to have lost seven members. Statistically for this many to have died, the graduating class would have had to be 8375 instead of the three hundred it actually is. The only other way it would have been statistically probable is if they all died in one event like a car accident or a fire. That's the first question I asked. Then, the way they died. The probability of dying of botulism is astronomically low. They checked the food in Marla's home and no clostridium botulinum was found. So where did she pick it up? If it was at an eating establishment, why was nobody else sick? Nobody else was. I had Garcia check. The "accidents", he made quotation marks with his fingers, "Were all too convenient. Do you want me to go on?"

"No," Rossi replied, "That's fine, you've convinced me. Good work, by the way."

"He's not supposed to be working; he's supposed to be on vacation with me." Allie whispered through gritted teeth to no one in particular. Only JJ heard her. Suddenly she stood and headed for the door.

"Where are you going," Reid asked?

"I don't know; maybe back to the reunion, maybe back to the hotel room." She looked up at him and tears filled her voice. "I just wanted these four days with you, without Hotch calling you on a case or Evan demanding your time. I just wanted you, but you couldn't leave this alone, could you?" She struck his chest with her fists. "Damn you!" She ran out of the room colliding with the arriving Detective Hollis whose files cascaded to the floor. There was a stunned expression on his face as he looked at the departing woman and back at the BAU team.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds

A/N: Thanks again to all who continue to read and review, you make my day!

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Reid stood there, stunned by Allie's words. JJ approached the man. He was about 5' 9" she guessed, thinning gray hair and a gray mustache. He had blue eyes that contrasted with the wrinkled gray suit he wore. JJ bent down, helping him retrieve his files from the floor. "Detective Hollis, I'm Agent Jareau, we spoke on the phone." She introduced the rest of the team. The detective looked rather sympathetically at Reid.

The team started to peruse the files while Hollis said, "Let me get this straight, you think these were homicides not accidents? How do you figure that?"

The team looked at Reid but he seemed lost in thought. He kept looking at the door as if he hoped to see Allie walk back through it. Hotch said, "Detective Hollis, why don't you help yourself to some coffee and Agents Rossi, Morgan, Prentiss and Jareau will explain the situation. I'll be back shortly." He turned to Reid, touched his shoulder and indicated he should follow him as he left the room.

"Sorry Hotch, I guess I lost my concentration there for a moment. I'll go in and talk to Detective Hollis."

"No Reid, the others and I can handle it. You need to talk to Allie," Hotch counseled.

"Well Hotch, I don't think she wants to talk to me. You saw the way she was when she left. She's pissed at me big time."

"Yes Reid, she is and I know what that's like. I know what it's like to turn your back on that anger, saying she doesn't understand and getting lost in the work." Hotch let the so often held in emotion show in his eyes. "That doesn't solve anything. You've got to talk to her. Another thing to consider, if she goes back to the reunion and tells people we're on to a murderer, that would tip him off and we don't need that. Right now he thinks he's in the clear. We need to keep him thinking that way. You have to talk to her."

Reid nodded, "Okay Hotch, I'm sorry this happened."

"Reid, I'm sorry too but you are entitled to a life and Allie's entitled to her emotions and feelings. Go to her. Talk it over. You'll work it out. In case you haven't noticed, that woman loves you." Hotch patted him on the back and returned to the room leaving Reid to ponder his words and Allie's actions.

Hotch reentered the room as the team were filling Detective Hollis in on the reasoning behind deeming these deaths homicides. "You mean this guy," he motioned to the doorway where Reid had left, "Thinks that there's a bunch of murders because the statistics don't add up! Who knows those kinds of statistics anyway?"

"Dr. Reid is a very talented behavioral analyst and he used his vast and varied knowledge to come to this conclusion. Believe me Detective Hollis; he would not involve this team in something of this magnitude on a whim." Hotch stated upon hearing the detective's skepticism.

"I'm sure you're right, it just seems so strange that no one in the four death investigations picked up on any foul play," he replied.

"There have actually been seven deaths, three occurred outside this jurisdiction." JJ added, going through one of the files.

"So what you're saying is this Agent Reid, in about ten seconds, picked up on what had eluded four different law enforcement agencies?" The others nodded and he shook his head, disbelievingly. "Well, I have to head back to the stationhouse, if you need any assistance, let me know, though I think you guys are chasing your tails on this." Detective Hollis said as he headed for the door.

"Hotch, how's Reid," Emily asked after the detective had left.

"Well, he's feeling bad about Allie and bad that he thinks it's interfering with the investigation." The unit chief filled them in on some of his conversation with the young profiler. "I told him to find her and talk to her, that we could hold down the fort here."

"Yeah, it's probably better if he's with her anyway, if you're all thinking what I am," Morgan stated.

"That not only is she a friend to those that died but if this killer is after the Mount Pleasant class of 2002, then that puts Allie smack dab in his target range," Rossi proffered.

"I don't think that possibility has hit her yet. She's too angry at the moment. She'll get there eventually, Allie's not stupid." JJ said while she continued to leaf through one of the files. "It says here that Pam McPhee ate her lunch in the park every day, when the weather was good, and she always got her lunch at the same deli. The killer must have known this and found a way to introduce mushrooms into the equation, knowing it would bring on the allergic reaction."

Rossi was pacing the room, "He knows these people. He was able to approach Pam in the park and get into Marla's home. Laurel had no defensive wounds. He's one of the students. They knew him and they weren't afraid of him. He's like a mission based serial killer but not in the strict sense of the word. It's not a religious or ethical mission he's on. He's retaliating against this high school class for some reason and he won't stop until he's finished with the whole class or we stop him."

"Apparently, Marla Felstead died in her home but, like Reid said, no hint of the botulism toxin was found anywhere in the house." Emily was sitting on the couch provided with the room and poring over one of the reports Detective Hollis had supplied. She took a sip of her coffee and added, "Reid was right, the police should have been suspicious as to how she came into contact with botulism. Obviously the killer introduced it into her food but then removed all traces when he left."

Morgan added, "He'd had to have waited around for the botulism to take hold. He couldn't risk her being able to call 911 once the effects of the toxin hit her. What are the symptoms of botulism anyway?"

Everyone shrugged. "Reid would know," JJ said and they all internally lamented that their resident genius was not with them at that moment, the list of symptoms bursting forth from his encyclopedic mind.

Hotch sighed, "I hope he's having better luck than we are."

Reid found Allie sitting alone at a table as the reunion festivities went on around her. She had a glass of white wine, half gone, on the table in front of her. "Is this chair taken," he asked. She looked up at him but said nothing. "I'll take that as a no," he said, pulling out the chair and sitting down.

"Shouldn't you be with the team? They need your input, if you're going to catch this guy." She didn't look at him, but instead, stared at her former classmates milling about the room. Was one of them a cold blooded killer?


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds, such a shame, really.

A/N: Continued thanks to all the reviewers. You inspire me.

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"Okay, ballistics says Drake Holloway was killed with a 30-06, probably from a Remington semi auto rifle, used mostly for deer hunting." Rossi said, reading the report from Noble County.

"It's probably a long shot but could we get Garcia to go through gun registrations and see if anybody from the class registered that type of weapon," Morgan suggested.

"A lot of people probably have those guns and are just legitimate hunters but I suppose it's worth a try," Emily responded.

Morgan took out his cell and pressed speed dial for Garcia. "Guru of all knowledge, speak ye who seek the truth."

"Hey baby girl, we need something from you."

"When don't you? Okay, challenge me, you beautiful chocolate God," Garcia bantered back.

"We need you to put Allie's classmates in a search and see if anyone registered a 30-06 semi auto rifle, probably a Remington."

"Morgan, I said challenge me. By the way, I might have something for you. I may know how he keeps track of all his classmates."

"How's that Garcia," Emily inquired from across the room.

"Facebook," Garcia answered.

"Facebook," Morgan repeated.

"Yeah, they're practically all on Facebook and you'd be surprised what you can learn about them. If the killer poked them and they knew him, they'd let him in as a friend. Guys, Allie's on there. Just a little tidbit, I'll get back to you about the gun registration. Toodle loo for now." The line went dead.

"I never thought of Facebook," JJ admitted. "These people just handed information about themselves and what they were doing to a killer."

"Disguised as a friend," Emily pointed out.

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"I'm sorry about all this; I know it's spoiling the reunion for you but what was I supposed to do when I noticed the number of deaths was inconsistent with the statistical data?" Reid looked at Allie and then moved his chair around the table so he faced her with no table between them.

"Nobody else would have noticed it and everything would have been fine; oh I know, that's illogical, I'm just disappointed. I wanted this weekend to be so nice for us," Allie lamented, looking down at her hands.

"But I did notice and once I did, what could I do, forget about it, ignore it? What if the next person he chose was your best friend, Chantal, and her unborn baby?" She nodded, continuing to look at her hands. Reid placed the tips of his long fingers under her chin and tilted her head up so their eyes met, the anguish in his voice unmistakable, "What if the next person he chose was you?"

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"We're not getting anywhere on the profile." Hotch complained. "It's retaliation but retaliation for what? Darcy was bullied but Brian was a bully. So there's a connection there but they're opposites so perhaps his reason has nothing to do with that."

"We're obviously missing something. What about Lorne Kemp, do we have to have his body exhumed to look for the potassium chloride Reid thinks caused the heart attack," JJ asked?

"Yeah, we'll have to do that in time but for now we'll just assume he's a part of this. It seems unlikely that he's not," Rossi replied pacing in front of the cork board. "I wish Allie was he…"

"Well wish no more," Reid said walking into the room holding Allie's hand.

"Hi Allie," Hotch said, "Feeling better?"

"Yeah, sorry about the outburst before."

"What outburst," Reid said, "Allie, we need you to tell us more about these people; we need to build a profile and for that we need to know who these people are and why this guy's retaliating against them."

"Okay," Allie smiled at Reid, "Just tell me what you need, big guy."

"Big guy," Morgan laughed, "He's tall but he's kind of scrawny. I wouldn't really call him a big guy."

Allie went behind Morgan and stage whispered in his ear, "You obviously don't see him the way I do!"

"Oh ho ho, well chalk one up for the pretty brunette, right there." He made a mark with his finger on the wall. "Quite the sassy little woman you got there Reid."

"Uh huh," was all Reid said, not taking his eyes off the cork board, hoping the others could not see how red his face was, although he was glad Allie'd had a comeback for Morgan. Maybe she was feeling better.

Allie sidled up beside him. "So what do you want to know?"

"You already told us about Darcy and a little about Brian. Just give us a sense of who they were," Rossi replied before Reid had a chance to answer.

"Okay well, Drake Holloway hung around in the same group of kids as Brian did, so did Lorne Kemp for that matter. Those three guys hung around together."

"Were they bullies like Brian," Reid asked?

"Not to as great an extent. Brian was the ringleader and the others were always close by. They thought they were kings of the hill and they were quick to put down anyone who wasn't up to their standards."

"Like who, Hotch inquired?

"Like Darcy and there was a special Ed class at our school and they picked on them a lot, the geeks. That's what surprised me so much when Brian asked me out because I was a science geek."

"Probably because you were a cute science geek," Morgan suggested, "And he thought he could get in your pants."

"Yeah, well he had another thought coming, asshole!"

"What about the girls," Hotch moved along.

"Pam and Marla were on the cheerleading squad and fairly popular and Laurel was the prom queen, so I guess you could say they were in the "elite", she made quotation marks with her fingers, "As far as the girls went."

"And everybody in school knew that Pam was allergic to mushrooms." Emily clarified.

"Oh yes, there was an incident once where stew was served in the cafeteria and it had no mushrooms in it so Pam had some and started to have a reaction. She used the Epi pen right away and she was fine but they couldn't figure out how she contacted mushrooms when none were in the stew. They'd had mushroom soup the day before and used the same pot and the same cutting board. The cafeteria staff figured they weren't washed well enough and a hint of the mushrooms remained. It only took that little bit for her to have a reaction. I could see how someone could slip the tiniest bit of mushroom powder into her sandwich and cause her to have a reaction. It wouldn't take much. She wouldn't even taste it."

"So we've got three popular girls and three guys who thought they were pretty cool. Right," Reid said and Allie nodded. "And then we have Darcy who wasn't popular and didn't have any friends. Right." Again, Allie nodded. "This makes absolutely no sense. Darcy doesn't fit this scenario at all, yet she's there. What are we missing?"


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds

A/N: Thanks again to all who continue to support the story

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The hallways of the hotel were almost deserted. The reunion attendees had gone home to rest up for tomorrow's festivities. The clock on the wall of the hospitality room read 12:55 am on a Friday morning. The BAU team had not left, they still debated back and forth the reasons behind the unsub's retaliation against this class. Was it the whole class or just certain individuals? Allie felt that her former classmates should be warned that there might be a killer in their midst.

"Warned about what?" Morgan was sitting at the table spinning a pen in his hands. "What do we tell them to look out for when we have no idea who it is, how he chooses his victims and what method he'll use next.?"

"Well, I just don't like to think of people I care about as sitting ducks," Allie persisted.

"Allie, we don't want to tip him off that we're onto him. So far he doesn't think we know these are murders and we don't want him to," Hotch explained.

"So we just sit and wait for him to kill one of my friends?" She rose from her seat next to Reid, waving her hands expressively and going to stand toe to toe with Hotch. "Her voice rose indignantly, "I think they should be told."

"Well, they won't be and that's final." Hotch's nerves were frayed; it was one a.m. and they were all tired.

"What do you mean by that? You can't stop me from warning my friends." Allie fired back at the angry Hotch.

Reid looked between the two, a man he liked, admired, respected and wished to emulate and the woman he loved. He had been on the receiving end of both Hotch's steadfast authority and Allie's fiery temper. He knew who would be the victor and he closed his eyes and sighed, it was going to be a long night.

"Oh, I can and will stop you. You are a technical analyst for the FBI, Miss Graham and as such you take direction from higher ranking officials. I am an SSA and a unit chief. You will not divulge the existence of a serial killer. That's an order. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal," Allie said, stunned, looking at Hotch like she'd been slapped, "Supervisory Special Agent Hotchner, sir."

Emily looked at her friend, "Allie, we really don't want to create mass panic when we really don't have any solid evidence to support this theory of a serial killer," she looked apologetically at Reid.

"Look," JJ said, "It's late and everyone's tired. Why don't we call it a night and start fresh in the morning?"

"That's a good idea," Rossi said, "Maybe things will be clearer in the daylight."

The team started to pack up their things for the trip to the hotel where their rooms were booked. With the reunion at this hotel, they had been unable to secure rooms there.

Allie was still steaming after her verbal altercation with Hotch and stormed out of the room and down the deserted hallway to the elevator that would take her to the room she shared with Reid.

"Ooh hoo," Morgan said to Reid, "Better you than me. Good luck with that one buddy." Reid only nodded and left the tenseness of the hospitality room to join the irate Allie.

They stood in silence until the elevator arrived. Once they were alone in the car, Reid said, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm great, don't I look it," Allie replied sarcastically. "How could you let him talk to me that way?" Reid had known that this question was coming and was dreading it.

"Allie, Hotch is the unit chief; he's in charge of the investigation. He's my superior and yours and like it or not, he gives the orders. We have to follow them. You also chose to challenge his authority in front of his team. You were insubordinate and he had to call you on it. There was no way you were getting out of that one unscathed my love."

"Do you agree with him, that we shouldn't warn my friends that someone might try to kill them?"

"Considering that we don't know what or who to warn them about," Reid chose his words carefully, "Yeah, I do agree. We have to know more before we make any kind of statement. That statement, when it's time, will come from JJ."

They entered the hotel room and Reid suggested, "Why don't you have a hot bubble bath, that always seems to relax you, I'll wash your back."

"Do not even look at me that way and get that off your mind right now. You are not getting any tonight bucko!"

"Okay, so why don't I just go and sit quietly in this corner over here," he said, grabbing his sweat pants and Tee shirt he wore for sleeping and started to undress.

Allie decided the bath might help and went into the bathroom to draw it. After she was undressed and relaxing in the lovely hot water, Reid poked his head in the room. "One question, was Darcy into drugs when you knew her?"

"No, that's the thing I can't understand, she'd never take drugs. She wasn't the type."

"Was I," Reid said, closing the door and leaving her to her luxurious soak.

Allie came out of the bathroom wrapped snugly in his old robe. "Feel better," he asked?

"Yeah, I do. What are you thinking? Why the questions about the drugs?"

"So to your knowledge, she wasn't a drug user in school?"

"No, totally not. She and Daryl were both straight arrows."

"Daryl, who's Daryl," Reid wanted to know?

"Oh, he's Darcy's brother. He went to Mount Pleasant as well."

"Was he ahead of Darcy or behind her," he looked questioningly at Allie.

"Neither," she said, running the brush through her hair, "He was in the same grade, they were twins."

"Twins, was Daryl overweight like Darcy?" Reid's interest was piqued.

"Oh no, he was quite a handsome guy, and really nice, not a jerk at all. I used to wish he'd ask me out but he never did," Allie told him.

"So did he hang out with his sister?"

"Well no, not really, what guy wants to hang out with his sister especially when she didn't have any cute girlfriends."

Reid glanced at the clock, "We better get some sleep, we've got a big day tomorrow." They settled into the bed and Reid kissed Allie good night before he turned off the lamp.

He was lying quietly on his side, thinking, when he felt a hand softly caress his back. Allie whispered, "Are you asleep?"

"No, I'm awake," he rolled over to face her.

"Sorry I was such a bitch before. I guess I'm just rattled by all this. I'll apologize to Hotch in the morning."

"Okay, try to get some sleep." Allie nodded and snuggled close to him as he wrapped his arms around her. Soon he could feel her slow rhythmic breathing. Sleep would not seem to overtake him however. Something was bothering him. Something someone had said. If he could only remember. He lay there for a long while trying to will himself to sleep, not wanting to move in case he disturbed Allie who was locked in his arms. He'd have to ask Garcia about… Oh my God, that was it, Garcia!


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I still don't own Criminal Minds, (sniff, sniff)

A/N: Thanks to all who read and reviewed. Your reviews are a highlight of my day and never fail to put a smile on my face.

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When Allie awoke Friday morning she noticed the sun filtering under the curtains pulled across the hotel room windows, her mind registered that the clock on the nightstand read 8:15 and she realized she was alone in bed. She frowned. Allie liked waking up with Spencer's comforting warmth beside her. At that moment the bathroom door opened and the object of her thoughts strode out dressed in jeans and a grey tee shirt. "Good morning," he said good naturedly.

"Good morning to you," she smiled. "You seem to be in a good mood."

"Yeah, I got an idea last night. Who in your class did drugs," he asked abruptly, sitting on the side of the bed to put on his cross trainers and tie the laces.

Allie looked bewildered at his question. "Drugs, what do you mean by that?"

"Well, you know who in your class took drugs, or I'm sure you have a pretty good idea. You know, who smoked a little pot, sniffed coke, injected. I need to know so I can contact their dealer."

"Why do you want to contact a drug dealer, honey?"

"Just an idea I had about Darcy. I need to find out where she got her drugs." Reid explained but Allie still looked confused.

Reid continued to look at her expectantly, "Okay okay, Greg Morrison and Mickey McDougal were kind of known around the school as dopers."

"Are they at the reunion," he continued to enquire.

"Yeah, I saw them last night at the meet and greet. I never talked to them; we never hung out together. I talked to Becky though; she used to be really into Mickey, nice girl, lots of tattoos. It always bothered her that Mickey was into the drug scene." She watched as Spencer affixed the holster holding his glock to his right hip. "They used to go to Gino's that's a pool hall on Baxter," Allie told him, still unsure of where he was going with this.

"Okay, thanks, I'll see you later; we got that luncheon today, right?" He grabbed the black leather jacket he'd worn the night before, shrugging into it. He grasped Allie by the shoulders, kissing her soundly and headed for the door, reaching for his cell and pressing speed dial. Allie heard him say, "Hi Garcia," as the door to room 421 was closing.

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The team had just arrived at the hospitality room when Morgan's cell rang. Garcia told him she was faxing the results of the gun registration search. A few of the students had those hunting rifles registered. She ended the call quickly. She told him she was working on some things for her sweet boy for an avenue he was following. Morgan relayed this to the team.

"What's that mean," Emily asked?"

"I don't know, Garcia didn't elaborate," Morgan replied.

"He's gone to find Darcy's drug dealer," a voice said from the doorway. The team turned to see Allie standing there, dressed in an emerald green sundress and carrying a box of donuts.

"Darcy's drug dealer," Morgan repeated, "Why?"

"It was some idea he had during the night. He didn't share it with me." She went on to tell them about the conversation she'd had with Reid that morning.

"So he went to this pool hall frequented by dopers, looking for Darcy's dealer," Rossi stated for clarification.

"Yes, I already told you…"

"Alone," Hotch asked, dismayed that the team's youngest member would be out alone amongst drug dealers.

"Well, there wasn't anyone with him. He had his gun though," Allie responded. "Why, you don't think he's in danger do you?"

"Morgan, Prentiss, get over to that pool hall in case Reid needs back up," Hotch ordered. Allie gave them directions and they headed out.

Hotch was pouring himself a cup of coffee and Allie approached the table setting the donuts down, saying, "I'm sorry for my behavior last night. I guess I overreacted. I just don't like to think about people I care about being in danger. I apologize for questioning your authority.

"Allie, I know you care about your former classmates and we'll do everything in our power to get this guy and I think the best way to do that is to not let him know we're on to him."

"Yeah, I understand, it's just that I hate being helpless."

"You aren't helpless. You've been helping us put together our profile. That's something useful," Hotch said encouragingly.

"But, are we any further ahead?"

"Come on, Garcia just sent over some information. Let's see what it tells us." Hotch said, reaching into the box for a donut which he bit into eagerly. "Great donuts, thanks Allie."

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Reid was in the back room of Gino's pool hall on Baxter Street. He had talked to Mickey McDougal, saying he'd heard from Allie that he might be able to get him some action. He was running low on his "product" but he didn't want Allie to know. Well you know what she's like, miss goodie two shoes. Mickey had nodded and turned him on to Nick Morelli, who did business in the back room of the billiards establishment.

When they were alone, Reid flashed his ID at Morelli. "Hey man I don't want any trouble here. No drugs have been mentioned and no money has exchanged hands so you got nothin' on me," Mickey protested.

"Exactly, Mr. Morelli. Let's keep it that way. I have no intention of disrupting your "business." I only want a little information." Morelli thought about the wisdom of this for a few moments and then nodded, "Okay, I'll tell you what you want to know but you never heard it from me."

"Deal," Reid said.

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Morgan and Prentiss were driving through the streets of Lancaster, hoping that their friend had not gotten himself into some kind of trouble. "What was Reid thinking, going to a place like that alone? I don't think he's ever been in a pool hall in his life. He'll stick out like a sore thumb." The concern was evident in Morgan's voice.

"Maybe it'll be okay, who knows maybe he decided against it once he got there."

They made a right on Baxter Street like Allie had directed and two blocks up they came to Gino's. They exited the SUV and were about to enter the pool hall when Reid came out. "Hi guys, what are you doing here?"

"Allie told us that you'd come here alone and Hotch figured you might need back up," Emily responded.

"Sorry you made the trip for nothing but I'm fine."

"Well," Morgan interjected, "You know you got that Professor Peabody look going on and we thought you might kind of stick out down here."

Reid looked down at his jeans, tee shirt, leather jacket and cross trainers. "Do I look like Professor Peabody to you?"

Morgan and Emily shook their heads. Morgan said, "We were a little concerned, you know with you trying to pull off something like this. You really haven't done any undercover and aren't a great actor so we just thought it would be best to be on hand in case you needed us."

"Morgan, you have no idea how good an actor I am. I have acted almost every day of my life since I was a young child. To save myself a lot of trouble and pain in school, I acted not as smart as I really am. I acted like I had a mother who looked after me and our home so no one would take me away to foster care. I did it so well no one knew that a ten year old was in charge. I acted like I didn't care that my father had left, that it didn't hurt like hell. When the bullies attacked, I acted like it didn't hurt nearly as much as it did. He moved toward his SUV and turned back to his partners. Sometimes I act so well you have no idea I'm acting. Let's get back to the hotel. If Garcia's found what I need, I think I have the answer."


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds and no copyright infringement is intended

A/N: Thanks to all who reviewed. I appreciate the feedback and the support.

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Hotch, Rossi, JJ and Allie were going over the list of gun owners faxed over by Garcia with Allie giving the others the run down on each one. "I really can't believe any of these people would kill someone," she said.

"They probably didn't," Reid said walking into the room, followed closely by Morgan and Prentiss.

"What do you mean by that," Rossi asked. "Do you think you know who did this?"

"Yeah, I do, if Garcia calls and confirms my suspicions," he said as he walked over to the coffee machine and poured himself a cup adding a liberal amount of sugar.

"Did you meet with the drug dealer," Allie asked, getting up from her place at the table and crossing the room to stand by him.

"Yeah, I did. Your former classmate, Mickey turned me on to the guy when I told him I was running low on my drug of choice and needed to get some."

Emily's eyebrows shot up, "And he believed that," she responded.

"Been there, done that Emily. I can be pretty convincing, believe me." Reid sat down at the table. Allie dug in the box of donuts and put one on a plate supplied with the room and placed it in front of Reid. "Thanks, I didn't eat breakfast." He said as he bit into the pastry covered with sprinkles.

As he was chewing his cell rang. He quickly swallowed and answered, "Reid."

"Hi baby face."

Reid smiled, "Hi Garcia, have you got good news for me?" He put Garcia on speaker.

"I checked on the gun registration and there is that type of rifle registered to the father. There's also a PO box registered in his name. Some clostridium botulinum was ordered from Gen Star Labs and sent to that PO box. Paid for by a credit card belonging to the son."

"Now I also checked on a life insurance policy like you asked and lo and behold smarty pants, Darcy did purchase one about four months before she died. You were dead on with the beneficiary."

"Thanks Garcia, that's a big help," Reid replied.

"I'm here if you need anything. Bye for now sweetcheeks.

"Bye Garcia." Reid ended the call and turned to the group sitting at the table waiting impatiently.

"Well," Morgan said.

"I think I know what we're dealing with and if I'm right everything makes sense."

"Reid, just tell us," Hotch sighed. He loved the way Reid's mind worked but the long explanations frustrated him at times.

"Last night when I was in bed, something kept going through my mind. Something someone said that I couldn't quite remember," Reid began.

Morgan laughed, "Hey, I thought you had an eidetic memory."

"I do Morgan, but that's primarily for things that I read. This wasn't something I read, it was something somebody said."

"Can we please get on with it before I'm any grayer than I am now," Rossi interjected.

"Finally," Reid continued, "It came to me." The group sighed and waited. There was no way they were going to speed Reid up in telling his story so they might as well just sit back and listen, they decided.

"It was something Garcia said when we talked about Darcy's accident and that Darcy had been high as a kite on cocaine. She said, at least Darcy only killed herself and not some innocent person on the roadway."

He looked at his team like he had just explained the meaning of life and they stared back at him blankly.

"Don't you see, Garcia hit the nail on the head when she said Darcy only killed herself. Darcy…killed…herself. Her "accident" wasn't to hide a murder but to cover up a suicide!"

"But," Allie said, "I thought Darcy was the first murder."

"That's what I thought too but her murder never made sense with the others, they were polar opposites but now that I'm convinced her death was a suicide, everything else makes perfect sense," Reid said excitedly.

"How's that Reid, I'm still not understanding what you're getting at." JJ's face displayed her confusion.

"Don't you see, Darcy's death was the stressor? Losing his twin to suicide made Daryl Kullman snap and he went after those he'd felt wronged his sister leading to her killing herself." He stood and went over to the cork board. "Brian Dalton bullied Darcy mercilessly with Drake and Lorne as his trusty sidekicks. Look at the girls, cheerleaders and the prom queen. The cool girls lording it over the fat girl, am I right," he looked at Allie who nodded.

The team looked at the cork board, their mouths open. It all made sense now. "I'm sure Daryl got a note but has never shown it to anyone preferring the world believe his sister perished in an MVA. Darcy bought an insurance policy before she died. Daryl was the beneficiary but of course it wouldn't pay out for a suicide so she had to make it look like an accident."

"Okay, two questions, how can you be sure it was a suicide and how did Daryl know where everybody would be so he could kill them," Allie wondered.

"Garcia told us most of your class is on Facebook," Emily told her. "Everybody tells their "friends," she made quotation marks with her fingers, "Where they are and what they're up to."

"I'm on there," Allie said, looking physically sick.

"If it's any consolation," Rossi said, "You'd probably be one of the last people Daryl would hurt. You were Darcy's lab partner and you were okay with it. You were kind to her. Daryl would probably remember that."

"I'm sure about the suicide because Nick Morelli sold the coke to Darcy herself, not to someone who forced her to take it. Nick said she wanted to know if it would stop the pain. I don't think she was talking about emotional pain because she knew that would be over soon. I think she meant the physical pain of the accident."

"So what do we do now," Allie asked?

"We get a warrant for the gun owned by Daryl's father and do a ballistics match with the bullet recovered from Drake Holloway," Hotch informed Allie.

"We have the clostridium botulinum order from Gen Star. We can get some of the same toxin and make sure it's a match with what Marla ingested," Rossi added.

"Can we arrest him with what we've got," Allie looked at the group?

"We could bring him in on suspicion," Morgan answered.

The group turned to Hotch, "Let's do it. Then no more of Allie's classmates are in danger." He added, "JJ, get in touch with Detective Hollis. Have him gather the families of the victims together and you and he can inform them that their family members were murdered. I don't want them hearing about this on the news. Don't give any details; just tell them we're following some leads. Morgan get the warrant for the Kullman's father's rifle"

JJ alerted the Lancaster PD that they would be bringing a suspect in on suspicion of murder and relayed to the team that LPD would meet them there. She then set off to meet with Detective Hollis.

They proceeded to the home of Doug and Marie Kullman, where Daryl stayed when he was in town, and took a somewhat surprised Daryl into custody. Allie, who was allowed to come with the agreement she would remain inside the SUV, was relieved when she saw the doors of the police car close on her former classmate

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Hotch and Reid were in the interview room questioning Daryl Kullman. "Why did you order clostridium botulinum from Gen Star Labs," Reid asked?

Daryl was sitting in a chair across from Reid, one wrist handcuffed to the table. "That's not illegal. I was working on an experiment. I am in grad school at Ohio State, you know," the prisoner supplied.

"Then I'm sure you'll be able to produce the documentation all scientists keep on experiments," Reid continued.

The door to the interview room opened behind Reid and a voice said, "Questioning stops now gentlemen."

Allie, watching from observation said, "Oh no, this is not good."

Reid turned, his eyes widening at the new arrival, "Mr. Graham!"


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds

A/N: Continued thanks to my faithful reviewers. You're the best!

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"Special Agent Reid," Lloyd Graham responded.

Both Hotch and Daryl Kullman looked from one to the other as it seemed the two men were attempting to stare each other down. In the observation area Allie was also staring at the two most important men in her life as if her life depended on how this played out.

"That's your Dad," Morgan said, pointing at the interview room?

Allie nodded. "This is so not good," she said again.

JJ entered the observation area after talking to Detective Hollis and noticed the look on Allie's face. "What's wrong," she asked?

"Apparently our suspect has lawyered up," Emily volunteered.

Morgan continued, "And the lawyer's Allie's Dad."

They watched the scene unfolding in the interview room. "Since you have no evidence on which to hold my client, I strongly suggest you release him."

"We can hold him for seventy-two hours without charges," Reid countered.

"Just try it Agent Reid," the lawyer responded, "I'll have a writ of habeas corpus on Judge Fieldstone's desk so fast it'll make your head spin faster than it did when you were on Dilaudid."

There was a collective gasp from the group in the observation area. No one could believe what Allie's father had said to their teammate and friend. Morgan punched the wall with his fist. "That son of a…," then he remembered Allie was standing there and didn't finish the sentiment.

Both Emily and JJ's mouths gaped in awe of what had been said. Rossi's lips settled into a grim line but he said nothing. Hotch's hands at his side clenched into fists and it looked like he'd like nothing better than to plant one on Lloyd Graham's face. Daryl Kullman sat back in his chair smirking, he was enjoying this show. Reid looked at Allie's father like he had been slapped. Allie stood in the observation area silent as unchecked tears began to meander down her cheeks.

Allie had had what she considered a normal relationship with her father. There had been the usual arguments and rebellion between fathers and daughters. There had been times of over protectiveness, when she wanted nothing more than to be away from her father and at other times when life had beaten her down, only her father's loving arms would do. She had been loved by him, at times smothered by him, angered by him, disappointed by him, scolded by him and even embarrassed by him. What she had never been was ashamed of him. Until now!

Reid glanced at Hotch. "This is SSA Hotchner, our unit chief. He will decide whether or not to release your client." Hotch did not want to give in to the bastard but until the ballistics tests and lab results confirmed it, they had nothing solid on which to hold their suspect. Hotch gave Lloyd Graham an ugly glare and undid the handcuffs that secured Daryl Kullman to the table.

"A wise choice Agent Hotchner, come on Daryl, let's file the paperwork and get you out of here. Your father was worried. Gentlemen," he said looking at Reid and Hotch, "It's been a pleasure." He turned and left the room, closing the door behind him.

"That went well, don't you think," Reid looked at Hotch.

"Reid, don't make jokes. You shouldn't have had to put up with that." Hotch let his anger show.

"Hotch listen, it's on record what happened. It's not like nobody knows about it. Mr. Graham was just trying to rattle me. It comes with his job description. He was being a bully. I've dealt with enough of them in my life. We'd be stupid to think Daryl's father wouldn't call him a lawyer. I guess it's just our luck that it turned out to be Allie's fa…, oh my God!" Reid went rushing from the room.

As soon as her father left the interview room, Allie left the observation area with a determined stride. Any tears she had cried dried on her cheeks as anger overtook hurt and compassion in her myriad of emotions. Her chin length hair flew behind her as she strode purposefully through the LPD stationhouse. She found her father at the front of the building talking to Daryl. She shoved Daryl out of the way with a strength she didn't realize she possessed and pounded on her father's chest. "What the fuck did you think you were doing? How could you say something like that to Spencer? I told you about his life so you would understand. I never thought you would turn around and use it against him. What kind of a…"

"Hey hey hey," Reid said running up to Allie, positioning himself between her and her father and putting his hands on her shoulders. "Shh, shh, don't do this. It's alright. I'm alright. Your Dad was just trying to get a rise out of me. That's his job, attack the law enforcement officer. It's textbook. I've been bullied by worse. I've had a gun held to my head while a madman repeatedly pulled the trigger. This was nothing, believe me."

"It's not fair, what he said about you was awful. I didn't tell him those things so he could use it against you." Allie was still angry.

"You think I don't know that. You would never knowingly hurt me or anybody," Reid replied.

"Well, I'm as guilty as you are. I've been helping you," she looked past him at her father, "So what are you going to do to me, huh Dad?"

"You know I would never do anything to hurt you, Princess," her father replied.

"Well, you've got a funny way of showing it," Allie looked daggers at her father.

"Okay, well, you see, everybody's fine. Your Dad got his client released and," he looked at his watch, "I have to get back to the hotel and change. You and I have a luncheon to attend." He took her hand leading her back to the team.

"You, Spencer Reid, want to go to my reunion luncheon. You didn't want to come here in the first place, now you want to go to the luncheon when we're in the middle of a case." Allie was skeptical.

"I thought you didn't want me to be in the middle of a case. I thought you wanted me to be with you at the reunion. You haven't changed your mind have you?" Now Reid was confused.

"No of course not, I'm just mad at my Dad. What happens now," she said as they reached the interview room where the team had grouped after the departure of their suspect and his lawyer. "I mean, how do we prove any of this; that Daryl was even in New York or Florida when these murders happened?"

"We bring out our secret weapon," Reid replied, "Penelope Garcia. If Daryl flew to New York or Florida, she'll find out. If he drove to New York or Florida, she'll find out. If he so much as stopped for gas or a pack of chewing gum, she'll find out. Anywhere Daryl Kullman went where there was a security camera, Garcia will find it and she'll use her facial recognition software to prove he was there. He may have gotten away from us but he will not get away from Garcia." Reid pushed the speed dial on his cell phone.

"Fountain of knowledge, speak ye who wish to drink of its juices." The computer tech came on the line and Reid smiled.

"Hi Garcia…"

"Do you really think she can do this," Allie asked as Reid spoke with Garcia, still not totally sure of the computer analyst's ability.

"Hey little girl," Morgan responded, "Doc's right, Garcia can do everything he says she can and probably things even he doesn't think she can do."

Reid ended his call to Garcia and turned to Allie, "Okay then, time to get back to the hotel. We have a luncheon to attend."

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Reid came out of the bathroom after changing into dress pants and shirt accented with a gold patterned tie. His dark brown blazer rested on the back of a chair in the hotel room. Allie was sitting on the bed with her shoulders slumped and a frown on her face. Reid sat beside her. "I don't even know if I want to go to the luncheon. It's been such a rotten day."

"Well I want to go so I think we should go."

"You do not want to go. Why on earth would you want to go?" Allie was disbelieving.

"Because, I want you to see your friend Chantal and I want you two to talk about old times and that little baby she's having and I want to see you smile that smile that makes my heart go," he put his hand over his heart and made a heartbeat motion, "Thump, thump."

Allie couldn't help but smile as she smacked Reid on the shoulder. "See, yeah, that smile there just like that." Allie laughed as Reid put on his jacket and she went to check her hair and makeup.

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The luncheon was well attended. Everyone had heard about the arrest and subsequent release of Daryl Kullman and it was the main topic of conversation. Allie found her friend Chantal quickly and they started babbling about old times and the new baby, raising Allie's spirits immensely. Another friend Karen Ross arrived with a husband and a three month old infant in tow. Allie made a beeline for the baby and held the child for a long time smiling and cooing to the wee girl. This caused Chantal's husband Mark to slap Reid on the shoulder and say, "See man, I told you, she's thinking about it," which sent Reid in a fluster to the men's room.

When Reid had finished in the bathroom and was washing his hands, he adjusted his glock that he had placed in the back of his waistband while Allie was in the bathroom. He didn't think Daryl would make an appearance but he wasn't taking any chances. Although he really hadn't wanted to come to the luncheon, he was glad they had because Allie's mood had improved greatly. Now if she would only put down that baby. It was starting to make him nervous!

When Reid arrived back at the table the group was breaking up. Chantal was going to rest and Karen had to go put the baby down. Mark and Karen's husband, Craig, were going to the varsity football game and asked Reid to join them. Reid declined as Allie said good bye to her friends and a long cooing good bye to the baby. Reid was starting to sweat. The pair walked hand in hand back to their hotel room.

They entered their hotel room and were on each other instantly, the urgency of their passion would accept no denial. The emotional upheaval of the last few days demanded release. They were devouring each other with deep hungry kisses. Reid's long graceful fingers moved sensuously over her body, exploring her soft curves while his mouth trailed kisses down her neck and onto her shoulders; he deftly slid down the straps that held her dress in place. Allie's fingers weaved through his hair, delighting in caressing the soft waves. Her hands reached his shoulders pushing the blazer down and he briefly released her to shrug it off. His lips continued to explore the exquisite woman before him, reaching her breasts and pushing the emerald dress down to her hips and finally to the floor. Allie moaned in pleasure, his lips moved tenderly over her breasts as her probing hands undid the buttons of his shirt.

Their heat was overpowering as they continued to fondle and undress each other until their, now naked, bodies reached the bed at last; they fell together joining their bodies as one. Moving rhythmically, their flesh on fire and crying out each other's names, they ultimately reached the peak of agonizing sweetness together.

Afterward, they lay quietly entangled in each other, spent from their lovemaking. Spencer tenderly ran his fingers over her back while she rested her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. Finally, Reid said, "I'm sure glad I got the hotel room, we never would have been able to do this at your parents'." He laughed as she started to lightly beat on his chest.


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I still own nothing.

A/N: Thanks again for all the wonderful reviews.

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Reid awoke to the sound of ringing. Allie was sleeping with her head on his chest. After orientating himself, he realized that it was his cell phone that was ringing. His cell was in the pocket of his pants that were, well, who the hell knew where. The ringing continued as he attempted to slide out from underneath his lover without waking her. He managed to disentangle himself from her but, while trying to get off the bed, his foot caught on the bedclothes and he thumped unceremoniously to the floor. He glanced at the bed. Allie still slept. Maybe he'd worn her out, he thought proudly. The ringing phone reminded him why he was sitting naked on the hotel room floor. His pants were somewhere between the door and the bed. He worked his way around the bed on his hands and knees until his knee hit something hard that dug into his flesh. Damn that hurt, what the hell was that, maybe his cell. He dug underneath, first Allie's panties, then her sundress to discover his glock. "So much for gun safety." He finally found his pants and answered his cell, "Reid."

"My goodness, Sweetness, what took you so long to answer the phone?"

"Oh, uh, sorry Garcia, I was, uh, in the bathroom," Reid lied.

"Reid, are you whispering? Why are you whispering?"

"No Garcia, I'm not whispering," he said a little louder, trying to satisfy Garcia but hoping not to wake Allie. "So, what have you got for me," he said nonchalantly, as if he wasn't sitting naked on his hotel room floor, with an equally naked woman on the bed.

"Okay honey, I started tracking your boy. I went for his credit card first. There aren't any credit card expenditures in Florida but there are some ATM withdrawals in Bowling Green, Knoxville and Waycross. He did travel to Florida by car. Luckily for us, his vehicle is equipped with GPS and Hotch got a federal warrant for their records to find out where he traveled. We do have some security camera footage from a hotel in Jacksonville just prior to when Brian Dalton was killed so we know Daryl was in the area. Putting him at Dalton's residence is another matter. If the GPS doesn't place him there you might have to get a picture to the local PD and have them canvas.

"Thanks Garcia, that sounds really positive." Reid was starting to get somewhat excited.

"Moving along, New York is another matter. He didn't fly and I can't find any information that tells me he drove so he had to get there some other way. I've got Grand Central in New York sending me security video from that time but you have no idea how many people are in and out of there in a day." She paused, "Forget I said that, you probably do know how many people that involves. Don't even bother to tell me."

Reid chuckled because he actually could tell her the volume of traffic in Grand Central Station on the average day. "Anything on the rifle?"

"Hotch got a warrant but so far no word back. We also got the clostridium botulinum sample at the lab. They're testing it as we speak for comparison. Hotch also got a warrant for Kullman's lab documentation to see if he really was working on experiments"

"Good, I want to go over those records. I'll be able to tell if it's a legitimate experiment or a smokescreen. What about Lorne Kemp's body, did Hotch get an order to exhume?"

"No Sweet Pea, he's still working on that one. That's all for now boy wonder. Let me know if you need anything else. I'll keep working on tracking Daryl's movements."

"Thanks Garcia."

"Anytime, toodle loo," she said and ended the call.

Reid closed his cell and glanced at the bed. Allie was still sleeping. He got up and headed for the bathroom and a shower.

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Hotch hung up the phone. "Judge Fieldstone is not seeing the connection with the other deaths and is unwilling to issue an exhumation order on a whim."

"Well you have to admit," Rossi was sitting on the sofa sipping his coffee. "On the surface, they don't look connected and we really don't have any solid evidence that says that they are."

Morgan leaned against the table, his arms crossed, "That's because the judge doesn't know Reid. He doesn't understand the way Reid's mind works."

"Does anybody," Emily interjected?

"Do you think Reid's wrong about Daryl Kullman," JJ asked Emily?

"No, not at all," Emily clarified, "I'm just saying, even we find it hard to understand how Reid's mind works and let's face it, we really don't understand, but we've been around him enough and we've seen the things he can do. Now we just accept that his mind can do things that would boggle the normal person's mind. So I can see why it may be hard to convince this judge."

JJ had been stirring her coffee and then looked at the group. "Do we really need the judge? Could we approach the family for permission and take that to the Home Office for a license? It's not like it's a secret now since we've already brought Kullman in for questioning."

"That's an idea JJ, but let's wait until our lab results are back and we can possibly convince a judge. We don't want to put the family through that needlessly and we won't get a lot of cooperation if we appear to be going over his head," Hotch suggested. "If the judge still disagrees you can approach the family for permission. I could also go for a federal warrant but like I said, I don't want to alienate the locals if I can help it."

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Coming out of the bathroom, Reid dressed, holstered his glock to his hip again and wrote a note to Allie which he placed on his pillow. He looked down at his sleeping beauty, bent and softly kissed her on the forehead. She didn't waken. _Guess you're not a handsome prince. _He quietly left the room.

Reid filled the team in on Garcia's findings when he arrived at the hospitality room and Hotch informed him of the difficulties in getting the judge to issue an exhumation order for Lorne Kemp. Hotch also told him that the documentation of Kullman's experiments had arrived and Reid dug into the papers eagerly.

"Garcia found out that Daryl Kullman did have a hunting license and once she can track his movements she'll be able to find out if he went to Ales Run at the time Drake Holloway was killed," Emily offered.

"The pieces seem to be falling into place," JJ agreed

Reid looked up from the lab documents, "This is pure garbage. This is not a valid experiment. His scientific procedure is laughable. He just wrote this up so if anyone asked he'd have something to say he really was doing an experiment and he probably thought no one would look at it closely."

"Okay, so let's review what we have," Morgan suggested. "We know he had access to a weapon like the one used to kill Holloway and he had a hunting license.

Emily carried on, "We know he was in Florida at the time of Dalton's death."

"What about potassium chloride," JJ asked, "Do we know if he had access to that?"

"That's easy enough to get from any lab supply house, especially if he's used to doing experiments. Judging by this write-up, I'm not sure if he is but he probably knows where to get supplies. There'll be a record somewhere. I'll get Garcia on it. If we can prove he purchased KCl, then we might be able to convince the judge it's worth exhuming Kemp's body."

"Unless Garcia can place him in New York, we have no contact with Laurel Jamison." Rossi added.

"We also don't have any evidence of contact with Pam McPhee," Hotch said. Then he added, "JJ, take Prentiss and go down to the deli with a picture of Kullman and see if anyone recognizes him. The day of McPhee's death should stick in their mind. He had to have bought the same sandwich as McPhee, doctored it with mushroom powder, that will be almost impossible to trace, and made a switch."

"Right Hotch," JJ responded as she and Emily headed for the door.

"We should have results on the botulism toxin soon and that will definitely point a finger in Kullman's direction." Reid said absently as he was looking over the forensics report of Laurel Jamison's mugging. "It says here they found cat hair on her coat."

"That's impossible," a voice said from the doorway. The team looked up to see Allie standing there. "Laurel wouldn't have been caught dead …"


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: The usual disclaimer applies

A/N: Thank you to the faithful readers who continue to take the time to review.

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"Oh my God, I can't believe I said that," Allie sounded ashamed as she entered the room.

Reid got up from the table and rushed over to her, putting his arm around her trembling shoulders. "It's okay, it's only an expression."

"I know, but in this case, I mean she was caught d- dead."

Reid led her to a chair and she sat down. He sat facing her, taking her hands in his. "What did you mean by that? It could be important."

Allie didn't respond as she looked down at their clasped hands. She watched his thumbs rub gentle circles on the backs of her hands. Those hands were magic. They could make a coin appear and disappear. They could perform card tricks to rival any Vegas nightclub. They could massage away the tension after a stressful day. They could transport her to heaven when he wove them through her hair. They could…

"Allie," Reid said when she didn't answer.

"What… Oh the cat hair. Laurel had a terrible phobia of cats. She was petrified of them. She'd have panic attacks if she was near one, you know, she'd hyperventilate and break out in a sweat. If she saw a cat while walking home from school, we'd have to shoo it away so it didn't get near her. There's no way she'd have cat hair on her. She'd never get that close to a cat," Allie informed them.

"So if she didn't get near a cat, maybe she got it from her attacker," Morgan suggested.

Reid nodded, "Locard's exchange principle."

"What's that," Allie asked?

"Dr. Edmund Locard was a French scientist, a major contributor in criminalistics in the early 1900's. He's widely considered the father of forensics. He believed when two objects came into contact there is always transference of material from each object onto the other," Reid explained. "Do you know if Daryl has a cat?"

"No I don't but his parents do. I remember working on a lab project with Darcy at her house. They had a cat, a grey Persian. I think its name is Mimi."

"Hotch we need," Reid began but stopped when he noted Hotch had already pulled out his cell and was calling for a warrant for a sample of cat hair from the Kullman's cat. Morgan was on his cell as well, informing the LPD that a warrant was being issued and they needed a CSI tech to obtain a sample of cat hair from the Kullman's cat for DNA testing. Rossi was calling New York to find out if DNA tests were performed on the cat hair found on Laurel's body. They would need it, he informed them, for comparison.

"I still find it hard to believe that Daryl is doing this. He always seemed so nice."

"He probably was Allie, but sometimes there's that one event that makes some people snap. With Daryl it was the loss of his twin," Morgan explained.

Rossi carried on, "The loss of a twin is one of the most devastating losses because twins are often so close, they almost feel their twin is their other half."

"Sometimes twins will even develop their own unique language made up of words and phrases that only they understand. It's called cryptophasia," Reid told her.

"When Darcy killed herself, Daryl suffered an identity crisis which caused a psychotic break. He thinks he has a mission now, to make the people he feels are responsible for his sister's suicide, pay, by killing them," Hotch added.

Reid continued, "He's also likely to devolve, once he's done with all the bullies and the popular girls, he'll justify reasons for killing more of his classmates until he's in a frenzy and just killing anyone in the class at random, since he'll never get the satisfaction that he seeks, because even though he kills these people, his sister is still gone and he still feels he's only half of a whole."

Allie nodded, the light bulb finally going on. "Okay, but he's not likely to show up at the reunion, right. I mean, everybody's heard that he was brought in for questioning so they'll be watching for him. He won't try anything, will he?"

"That depends on how far he's devolved. So far he's worked hard at trying to hide his crimes but when the need to kill becomes greater than self preservation, he will come out in the open and risk exposing himself because his sense of self is damaged," Rossi responded.

Emily and JJ walked in the room. "That was a wasted trip," JJ muttered as she plopped down on the couch.

"Nobody recognized Daryl at the deli," Morgan asked?

"The kid we spoke to hasn't worked there that long and only works evenings," Emily clarified as she poured a cup of coffee and held the pot up to JJ who shook her head. "The guy we need to talk to won't be in until tomorrow morning."

The men informed JJ and Emily about the cat hair found on Laurel and the possibility it could have come from Daryl Kullman.

"That could be the break we're looking for. I mean if the hair is from the Kullman cat there's not much doubt that it's Daryl, is there," JJ exclaimed?

They all nodded in agreement. Hotch looked at the group. "We might as well call it a day and go get some dinner. All the lab and GPS reports should be in tomorrow morning, so we'll have a good idea what we're dealing with. I think if everything works out the way we are expecting, we'll be able to pick Daryl Kullman up tomorrow and you won't have to worry about the safety of the reunion Allie."

"Thanks Hotch, that makes me feel a lot better."

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Daryl Kullman looked at his yearbook. He flipped slowly through the pages containing photos of his former classmates. Some had dressed with care for the pictures; others looked like they had jumped out of bed and sat before the camera. It didn't matter to him. They were all the same anyway. He stared at the pictures, his eyes devoid of expression. He started at the A's and continued through the alphabet. When he came to Brian Dalton's photo, it was crossed out in red marker as were the pictures of the other five dead alumni. He finished his perusal and opened the book and started again at the beginning. He stopped when he came to the G's. There she was, smiling back at him. He pulled out his red marker and made a circle around the seemingly happy girl. She was next. He closed the book and started to whistle an old song, You And Me Against The World.


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: Guess what, I own nothing

A/N: Thanks to all who continue to read and send me such interesting reviews. They always make me smile.

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The BAU team and Allie were comfortably ensconced in the back of the hotel's restaurant, set to enjoy a leisurely meal while they waited for results of the forensic work that was pending, confident that it would give them the evidence they needed to make their arrest.

"This is a nice place." Emily remarked on the restaurant's décor. The vast room was carpeted in plush burgundy with gold accents while the round tables were covered with burgundy tablecloths contrasted with gold napkins. The chairs were luxuriously upholstered in a burgundy and gold print. The centerpiece of each table was a gold candle in a hurricane lamp. Muted light emitting from gold sconces on the burgundy walls, finished in trompe l'oeil to resemble Venetian plaster, added to the feeling of warmth and comfort.

"So, how was the luncheon," JJ asked?

Allie answered excitedly, "Oh, it was great. I got to see so many people I haven't seen in a while. My best friend, Chantal, is expecting a baby in another month. She asked me to be its godmother. I'm thrilled," she beamed. "My friend Karen was there with her husband, Craig. They've got a three month old baby, Heather, she's the cutest thing, isn't she honey?"

"Uh hmm," Reid replied, suddenly finding his drink, his napkin and the tablecloth very interesting. His refusal to make eye contact resulted in a collective smirk from the diners. Allie continued to talk about babies and Mark Jeffries' words echoed in Reid's mind. He hoped Mark was wrong but Allie's persistent babble on the subject, made him think otherwise.

Hotch got a faraway look in his eyes and Reid knew he was thinking of Jack and how much he missed his son. Allie's continued prattle about babies wasn't helping so it was a relief when their meals arrived. Talk centered on their meals and food in general and eateries in the Washington area that some hadn't tried yet. Reid was glad at the change in topic.

After the meal, the team headed for their hotel, looking forward to an uneventful evening for once, while Reid and Allie headed for their room. Once they'd entered the room, Allie said, "That was a nice meal."

"Yeah," Reid agreed absently.

"What are you thinking about? You seemed rather distracted at dinner. Is it something to do with the case," Allie asked, sitting beside him on the bed.

"No, it doesn't have anything to do with the case, at least not technically." He was silent for a few moments, then cleared his throat, "I want you to call your father," Reid replied.

"Oh, no," Allie stood up, backing away from him. "I have absolutely nothing to say to him after the stunt he pulled this morning."

"Allie, you can't let something like this come between you and your father." Reid's voice was rising. "He's your family. You have this wonderful family. You have no idea how precious that is until you don't have one. Believe me, I know."

"You have a family," Allie countered.

"Oh sure I do, and how dysfunctional is my family? My mother's in a mental institution. Some days she doesn't even know me. Our relationship will never get better because it's just not possible; it won't overcome her schizophrenia. My father, who left me at ten and tried to kill me at twenty-six, is in prison. Who knows if that relationship can ever be salvaged?"

"You have Evan." Allie countered again.

"Yeah, and Evan is one of the very best parts of my life. I've loved him from the moment I opened that hospital room door and saw his bald little head. It's the first real feeling of family I've had in a long time and I don't ever want to do anything to jeopardize that." Reid stood and closed the distance between them.

"But you, you have something so special. You have the American dream, a family that loves you, your parents, your grandparents, Chelsea and Dylan. Don't let something your Dad said to me ruin that."

"He should be the one to apologize, not me. He had no right to say something like that to you," Allie was adamant.

"Your Dad was just doing his job for his client. He had a piece of information about me and he used it to his advantage and got his client released. Do you think that Hotch, Rossi, Morgan, Prentiss and yeah, even I haven't said and done things we're not proud of in an interrogation to get the result we want. We've all done it because that's the way it works and I think your Dad knows that I understand that. When we arrest Daryl the next time, it'll be different. We'll have more evidence and your Dad can go ahead and file his writ, he won't win. Please, please, talk to your father."

Allie sat on the edge of the bed looking at the phone. "Would it help if I left you alone," Reid asked.

She shook her head and reached for his hand. "Please don't go." Reid nodded and sat down beside her on the bed.

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Joan and Chelsea were cleaning up the dishes after the evening meal. Something had happened at the police station between Lloyd and Spencer, although her husband refused to elaborate, citing attorney/client privilege. He said Allie was very upset with him over it. Lloyd hadn't eaten much and had hardly said a word during dinner which was so unlike him. She thought after the first evening that things were on an even keel with the family and Spencer, and now this. Perhaps she should call one of them.

"I hope this thing with Dad and Spencer doesn't put a damper on the weekend, Mike's coming and with everybody here, we were hoping it would be special." Chelsea reminded Joan of her son-in-law's anticipated arrival.

"Yes, I hope so too. I wonder if I could…" Joan stopped as the phone rang, "Hello."

"Hi Mom," Joan could hear the tears in her daughter's voice.

"Hi honey, are you alright? Your father told us there was an incident at the police station but he couldn't give us details of course."

Allie relayed to her mother what Lloyd Graham had said and she could hear her mother's sharp intake of breath. "Spencer says it's okay, that it's just Dad's job. He wants me to talk to Dad."

"I think that's an excellent idea dear," Joan replied, hoping to convince Allie to communicate with her father. "Why don't we get together at O'Kelly's? We could just sit in the back and talk."

"No, I don't think that's a good idea…" Allie was saying when the phone was wrested from her grasp.

"Hi, Mrs. Graham," Reid said, "What did you have in mind," he asked as Allie tried to take the phone back and mouthed the word "no?" Joan explained as she had to her daughter and Reid replied, "Sounds like a fine idea. We'll meet you there in, oh say, an hour. Fine, okay, bye." Reid hung up the phone as Allie shot daggers at him with her eyes. He smiled, "We have a date with your parents."


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: I do not and unfortunately never will own Criminal Minds.

A/N: Thank you to all who brighten my day with your reviews.

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Reid and Allie entered O'Kelly's, a piano lounge located in a quiet area of Lancaster. There were few people in the establishment even though it was a Friday evening. They chose a table near the back, farthest away from the piano to make it easier to carry on a conversation. Allie had changed from her slacks and blouse into a navy skirt with a tunic top in navy and white stripes. Reid wore his usual cords, a gold shirt accented with a brown tie and a brown jacket. He'd decided to leave his glock in the hotel room safe, thinking the Grahams might take offense if he came to the meeting armed.

Reid surveyed the room. The pianist, a bald black man, tickling the ivories of a baby grand, commanded the front of the room. There was a tiny dance floor, with most of the room being taken up by small round tables encircled with either two or four chairs. A bar was situated near the back. It was oak with metal railing and matching metal barstools upholstered in teal green as were the chairs. The lighting was dim and the music was soft, consisting mostly of old standards and some jazz. It Had To Be You was the current offering. A waitress appeared and the couple ordered drinks.

"I really don't know why I let you talk me into this," Allie said for the third time since Reid had hung up the phone after speaking to Joan Graham.

"Because," Reid responded, pausing as the waitress returned with their drinks, "You really want to make up with your Dad but you feel if you give in too easily, you're being disloyal to me. So you think if you complain about it you won't be seen as a traitor to me which is totally unnecessary. I would never doubt your steadfastness."

Allie looked nonplussed. "How come you're so obtuse about some things but this you see right through?"

"I study human behavior after all, I'm a profiler," Reid reminded her. He looked up and said, "Oh here are your parents." Reid stood as Joan and Lloyd Graham approached the table.

"Hi Spencer," Joan greeted the young profiler. "It's nice to see you again."

"You too Mrs. Graham, Mr. Graham," he nodded at Allie's father. Joan Graham was fashionably attired in slacks contrasted with a cream silk blouse with a high collar that wound snugly around her neck. It was topped with a short matching green jacket and complimented her auburn hair beautifully. Lloyd had traded the suit he'd worn in the morning for a pair of grey pants, a grey shirt undone at the neck and a black blazer.

Joan bent and kissed Allie on the cheek, "Hi darling." Lloyd Graham held the chair as his wife sat beside their daughter then took the chair next to her. Once they were sitting, Reid resumed his seat. Drinks were ordered again. No one spoke for a few awkward moments until Joan inquired, "How was the luncheon?"

"It was good," Allie replied quietly.

"Were there a lot of people there," Joan tried again.

"Yeah," Allie responded.

Reid could not believe he was actually wishing Allie would start babbling on about babies, the nuclear holocaust, global warming, the life cycle of the glow worm, anything to get her talking. He took a sip of his brandy. Knowing he would likely be sorry, he finally he bit the bullet and said, "Chantal Jeffries asked Allie to be her baby's godmother." If that didn't start some kind of dialogue, nothing would.

"Oh honey, that's wonderful. You must be so excited and honored. How is Chantal doing," Joan asked, looking thankfully at Reid.

"She's great Mom," her eyes brightened and she faced her mother. "Yeah, it's really special when someone chooses you for something like that. I'm so excited. Only one month to go. I can't wait for the baby to come." Joan was about to say something, realizing that Allie hadn't acknowledged her father yet when her daughter continued. "Karen Ross was there and she had her baby, Heather. Oh Mom, she was so cute. I held her for the longest time. She's just a little angel."

Joan couldn't help but notice how excited her daughter was about the subject of babies. She also noticed that Spencer appeared to be turning rather green. Perhaps it was just the lighting, she thought. Allie had come up for air and the table was silent for a few moments when Joan looked at Reid and said, "Spencer do you dance?"

Reid was taken aback by the question, "Not well," he said slowly, looking at Allie's mother who raised her eyebrows meaningfully. Reid's eyes suddenly opened wide, "But I…I really would like to uh get better, uh, Mrs. Graham would you like to…" Joan was up and had grabbed his hand before he could finish and they headed to the dance floor leaving father and daughter alone.

By the time Joan pulled Reid onto the dance floor, his heart was pounding so hard, he was sure it could be heard above the music. His sweating hands tingled and he wondered if his trembling legs would hold him. At first he resisted being so close to Allie's mother and she looked at him strangely for a moment. Reid realized she had no way of knowing that he did not readily touch others or allow them to invade his prized personal space. But Joan intuitively took his one hand and put her other on his shoulder whispering, "It's okay Spencer." He slowly put his arm around her back and squeaked out an apology for his shortcomings as a dancer. Joan assured him this was fine and he suddenly had the urge burst out laughing when the pianist started to play, What I Did For Love!

Lloyd looked at his daughter sitting across the table from him. Her hands were fidgeting with her glass, her napkin and the rings on her fingers. Her eyes never left the dance floor and her concern for Spencer was obvious. "Honey, he's okay. Your mother won't bite."

"I know that but he's been so hurt in his life. He doesn't trust easily and he doesn't like to touch people or be crowded. That will be very hard for him," she motioned to the dance floor with her head. "Maybe I should…"

"Maybe you should leave him alone and give him a little credit," Lloyd said sharply and Allie's head swung around to glare at her father.

"How dare you say that to me? I love him. I'm very proud of him. How can you say I don't give him credit," Allie countered her voice rising. "You're the one that tried to belittle him."

"I never tried to belittle him and he knows that. Do you think for one minute that I thought that the man you told me about, the man who'd been through so much, would be hurt by what I said. He told you himself, in the big scheme of things, considering all that's happened to him in his life, this was nothing. Actually, I was quite impressed with him. He wanted to hold Daryl for the seventy-two hours. He wanted me to file my writ. I could see it in his eyes but the decision wasn't his to make and Agent Hotchner gave in. Why, because he was upset over what I said to Spencer. He tried to hide it but it was written all over his face and in the way he clenched his hands into fists. I've read witnesses and juries most of my life. Reading Agent Hotchner wasn't that difficult. You see honey, it wasn't Spencer that I got to, it was Agent Hotchner and likely all the others in the observation room." A look at his daughter told him he was right. "Everyone, including you, seems to want to protect him and Agent Hotchner may have made a rash decision because of it, especially when it's obvious to me that Spencer doesn't want that. You would think a group of profilers would be able to see that."

Allie's look softened, "He's the one that wanted me to talk to you. He said you were just doing your job."

Lloyd Graham took his daughter's hand, "Princess, he's a good man and don't think for one moment that I don't realize that, okay?" He picked up her hand and raised it to his lips.

Joan tapped Reid on the shoulder and pointed to the table. "Does that mean that you don't have to pretend to like dancing with me anymore," he asked, favoring Joan with his twinkling eyes and his radiant smile and she suddenly knew how he had so captured her daughter's heart.

"Yeah," Joan smiled enthusiastically, pulling Reid back to the table.


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: Nope, just checked, still own nothing related to Criminal Minds

A/N: Thanks again to all who make my day with their reviews and to those who add the story to their alerts.

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It was late when they arrived back at the hotel. Allie was in much better spirits than she had been when they left after having talked things out with her father. Spencer had been very quiet since leaving the lounge, and had barely spoken on the ride back to the hotel. Coming out of the bathroom after brushing her teeth, Allie found him sitting on the bed, his back to the headboard with his long legs crossed in front of him. He was staring blankly ahead.

"Hey, what's up," she said, sitting beside him. "Why is this man frowning?"

Reid gave her a little grin. "I'm just thinking."

"About the case," she asked?

"No," Allie waited silently for him to continue. He seemed to be struggling to find the words. He looked at her and then down at his hands. "You, uh, you've been talking a lot about babies the last couple of days. Mark was teasing me that you were thinking about it and I…"

"I think about it," Allie admitted. "These two days are not the first time I've thought about it."

"In general you mean?"

"No, not in general, specifically, with you." Reid nodded, refusing to look at her. Allie continued, "I would like nothing more than to have a baby with you. I love you." She was silent for a few moments then carried on. "However, I know you have issues. I know you worry about the genetic probabilities a child of yours might face. I know you worry about being a good parent when you didn't have good parent role models. I also know you worry about bringing a child into a world you see the very worst of. He looked at her and she was overwhelmed by the sadness that he normally tried to keep buried in the depths of his soulful eyes.

She cleared her throat. "But I also know you are a good man," Allie went on, trying to keep a rein on her emotions, "And you have overcome so much. I've seen you with Evan. I've seen how you give so completely of yourself for him, how patient you are with him and he's just your little brother. How much more would that be magnified with your own child?"

"Your chances of ending up like your mother are, what, ten percent. If you were giving that statistic in a profile you'd say chances are low, one in ten, but because this involves you personally, you act like it's already a foregone conclusion. And what if the worst happens someday? Do you think you'll be sorry you were ever born? Do you wish your mother had never had you because you might, I repeat might, get schizophrenia someday? Your child might end up having schizophrenia one day or your child might end up having one of the millions of diseases that are out there or your child might end up being beautifully, wonderfully normal. For every couple that has a baby it's a crapshoot."

Reid looked about to speak but she put her hand over his mouth. "I've seen how you try so hard to keep what you do away from Evan and I know you would do that for your child but, like Evan, you can't protect him from everything. In the end, you just have to try and make sure your child has the skills to cope with the bad if and when it happens."

Reid chuckled, "How did you get to be so smart?"

"Well, you see, I hang out with this guy, they say he's a genius but some days, hmm, I don't know about that. He's kinda…" All talking ceased as Reid claimed her lips.

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The team had barely gotten to the hospitality room on Saturday morning when Reid and Allie arrived. Morgan was thinking that they both looked very happy for some reason when his cell rang. JJ was trying to keep up with the results from the fax machine that was spitting them out almost faster than she could retrieve them. It reminded Rossi of an old episode of I Love Lucy and he smiled.

JJ handed each result off to a member of the team. Allie shouted, "The bullet that killed Drake Holloway came from Doug Kullman's rifle."

Morgan got off the phone, "That was Garcia; she's got Daryl Kullman in Grand Central Station on the day Laurel Jamison died."

Rossi read his report, "The cat hair found on Laurel's body is a DNA match to the Kullman's cat. We need to get a warrant for Kullman's home and Daryl's place at Ohio State and look for the knife."

Reid said, "The clostridium botulinum Daryl ordered is a match to that recovered from Marla Felstead's body."

Hotch reported, "The GPS information says that Kullman's vehicle was a block from Brian Dalton's residence at the estimated time of the drowning."

A voice in the doorway added, as Emily walked in, "The guy at the deli remembers the day Pam Mcphee died. He was also able to identify Daryl Kullman's photo. He said he'd been coming there for a couple of weeks before Pam's death. He saw them run into each other. Daryl always bought a pastrami on rye until the last two times he was there when he bought the same sandwich as Pam. The guy wondered why he changed."

"Hotch, do you think this is enough to get the judge to order an exhumation of Lorne Kemp," Reid asked?

"I'll call the judge right now, but, yes Reid, I think we've finally got enough." Hotch walked over to a secluded part of the room and placed the call while the others waited impatiently. After speaking for a few minutes he rejoined the group, saying, "The judge is issuing three warrants. Two for the knife, one at the Kullman house and one for Daryl's place at Ohio State. He's ordering the exhumation of Lorne Kemp and he issued an arrest warrant for Daryl Kullman."

Hotch looked at his young agent whose ability to see patterns where most would think none existed, had culminated in them ferreting out a man responsible for six murders. "Well Reid, let's go get him."

The team filed out leaving Allie alone in the room. She had wanted to go with them but, this time, was not allowed. It was a funny feeling. She knew Spencer faced danger every day but he had never left her to head directly into a possibly dangerous situation.

The team spoke little on the drive over and when they arrived at the Kullman home, Hotch, Reid and Prentiss went to the front door while Rossi, Morgan and JJ went around the back in case Daryl tried to bolt. Mrs. Kullman answered the door and Reid looked to Hotch, waiting for him to execute the warrant but the unit chief yielded to his young teammate with a nod. Reid turned to Mrs. Kullman informing her that they were from the FBI and producing his ID as did Hotch and Prentiss. "We have a warrant for the arrest of Daryl Kullman."

"He's not here," the woman said.

"Excuse me Mrs. Kullman but I'm afraid we'll have to enter the residence and find that out for ourselves. We also have a warrant to search these premises for a knife used in the murder of Laurel Jamison." Reid produced the warrant, but Marie Kullman was reluctant to let them in.

"I'm calling my attorney. You just can't barge in here and do whatever you please. I don't care who you think you are," Marie Kullman replied indignantly.

"Mrs. Kullman, you are well within your rights to consult your attorney but we still have to execute this warrant." Hotch informed the irate woman who stormed off to the telephone.

She returned shortly, saying "He's coming. He said not to touch anything until he gets here."

The team waited but this time it was no surprise that Marie Kullman opened the door to Lloyd Graham. "Mr. Graham," Reid nodded.

"Spencer," Allie's father replied as Reid handed him the search warrant. "Marie, they're looking for a knife. There may be several that look like the kind they're looking for. This warrant entitles them to take all knives they feel fit the description of the murder weapon."

"But Lloyd, can't you do something to stop them?" Daryl's mother enquired.

"No Marie, their warrant is valid and I have to abide by it." The team turned to start their search but turned back as Reid approached Lloyd Graham.

Reid informed Lloyd, "We also have a warrant for the arrest of Daryl Kullman. We'll be putting out an APB. If you know where your client is, I strongly suggest you surrender him."


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: At the risk of repeating myself, guess what, I do not own Criminal Minds

A/N: Love all the reviews and PMs I get from you all. You're greeeaat!!

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Reid informed Lloyd, "We also have a warrant for the arrest of Daryl Kullman. We'll be putting out an APB. If you know where your client is, I strongly suggest you surrender him."

Lloyd Graham and Spencer Reid stood observing one another, Lloyd remembering he had used words to that effect at police headquarters. A slow grin came to his face, "Touché Spencer," he said. "I do not know the whereabouts of my client at this moment but should I be in contact with him I'll definitely counsel him to come in." Reid nodded and left the room to participate in the search.

The search yielded four knives that fit the general description of the murder weapon, three from the house and one from the garage. During the search, there was a commotion as Doug Kullman arrived home, summoned by a phone call from his wife. "What the hell is going on here Lloyd? How can you let them do this?" Kullman screamed at his lawyer.

"Doug, calm down; they have a warrant. There's nothing I can do. I'm here to make sure they take only what's specified in the warrant." Lloyd attempted to get the other man's temper under control.

"Lloyd, you can't believe what they're saying," The irate man paced back and forth in his foyer, breathing hard. Doug Kullman was an average 5'10" but tipped the scales at over three hundred pounds. He had a fringe of light brown hair with a few long strands that he combed over his balding pate. These strands now stuck to his crown from dampness as beads of sweat stood out on his head. His face flushed bright red. The blue shirt he wore was wet from perspiration under the armpits and on his back and the dark blue buttons appeared ready to pop at any moment. His navy pants sagged low in front to accommodate his oversized belly while the seams puckered, straining to contain the large man. "We've been friends for years. Our kids grew up together. We were in the PTA. We've sat beside each other in church and worked on charity fundraisers side by side for God's sake. How can you believe this?"

"Doug, I'm not saying I believe it, all I'm saying is that they have a warrant. I can't stop them from searching."

The team appeared in the foyer and Lloyd looked over what they had found and accepted a receipt for the knives. Doug Kullman was still fuming. "Haven't we been through enough? We lost our daughter and now you want to take our son away from us as well."

"Mr. Kullman, none of us wants to hurt you or your wife, but we have to go where the evidence leads," Hotch said.

"What evidence," Doug Kullman demanded. "What evidence do you have against my son?"

"I'm sorry Mr. Kullman, we're not at liberty to discuss that," Hotch replied. "Once we have Daryl in custody of course, your lawyer," he inclined his head toward Lloyd Graham, "Is well within his rights to file a writ of habeas corpus."

Lloyd looked to Hotch, then Spencer. Both stood resolute and his mouth curled slightly at the edges and he nodded. Hotch returned Lloyd's gesture and then looked back at the Kullmans. "I'm sorry for your loss."

The team left the Kullman home with Lloyd Graham close behind. Before reaching his vehicle, Lloyd turned to the team. "Spencer, I don't know whether to hope you're right or hope you're wrong. What I know about these people," he pointed back at the house, "Says to me you're wrong but I know my beloved daughter and her unwavering belief in you, tells me you could be right." He looked around the neighborhood and saw sturdy oak and elm trees, their leaves fluttering and rustling in the breeze, standing guard over neat modest homes with well maintained lawns, and continued, "Wrong or right, the backlash will affect this community for a long time. You'll go back to Quantico and we'll be left to deal with the aftermath. Just please be positive before you put us all through that."

"I'm sorry sir, I really am." Reid said, reaching up to tuck some stray hair behind his ear. "Do you think I wanted any of this? Do you think sometimes I don't feel cursed with this brain of mine that can remember every vapid fact it reads, every mundane snippet of information that no one is the least bit interested in until they need it. Do you think I wanted to look at those seven pictures and see, instead of seven classmates who would be missed, a killing spree? This is no picnic for me believe me. But knowing what I knew, I couldn't close my eyes to what I believed, and now know, to be the truth."

"Do you think I don't realize this community will be devastated by this, of course I do? But what should I have done, ignored what I saw while more people died? What if the next victim was Allie? How would you feel then?" He indicated the rest of the team as he spoke, "That's the important thing about what we do as opposed to other law enforcement officers. It's not so much catching a killer as much as it is catching him before he gets his next victim because with this type of killer, there's always another victim."

Lloyd nodded, sadly acknowledging the reality of Reid's words. He put a hand on Reid's shoulder, "I know you're a good man trying to do the right thing. It's not easy. I respect that." Nodding to the others, he turned and headed for his car.

"You okay man," Morgan asked as Reid stood looking after Allie's father.

"Yeah, let's get that APB out," he said, turning toward the SUV.

The team returned to the hospitality room after they made sure the APB was put out and had turned over the knives to the LPD forensics lab. When they entered the room they found Allie pacing anxiously. She hurried over to them. "Well," she asked, "Did you get him?"

"No," Hotch replied, "He wasn't at the Kullman home. We put out an APB."

"Your Dad was there though," Morgan supplied. "Marie Kullman called him as soon as we got there."

Allie's eyes opened wider, "Dad…Dad was there. What happened? Did something happen? Did he try to disrupt the search? What!" She looked at Reid.

"No, he didn't try to disrupt the search. We had a warrant; there wasn't anything he could do." Reid walked past her into the room.

Allie's eyes followed him as he went to the coffeemaker and poured a cup. She walked over to him. "He said something didn't he? What did he say?" Reid remained silent. "Honey, what did he say this time?" Finally she turned to the others, "Would somebody please tell me what he said?" She yelled loudly.

The team all looked at Reid and Rossi said, "I don't know about you guys but I'm kind of sick of this coffee and the donuts we're always eating. We should go to the restaurant for a proper cup of coffee and some lunch. He looked at Reid and Allie, "We'll save you seats." He abruptly left the room and the rest of the team followed.

Allie looked at Reid and he sighed and told her what her father had said. "Why do you look so upset? It doesn't sound too bad. He seems to think you're doing the right thing," she stated.

"I know I'm right and he respects that and I'm glad but he's right too. This is going to cause a lot of hard feelings in this community and there's nothing I can do to stop that." He looked down and his hair fell in his eyes. He pushed it back, adding. "You should have seen the Kulllmans. They were so angry that they've lost a daughter and now might lose their son. I felt sorry for them. And what about the other parents who thought their sons or daughters died in accidents. How will they feel knowing they were murdered? And your classmates, looking through the yearbook is going to take on a whole new meaning."

"You can't think about that. You have to think about the lives you're saving. What about the parents of his next victims? What about those parents? They'll love you."

She stood up and pulled him to his feet. "Let's go buster, time to get some lunch and if you're a good boy and eat all your lunch, you can have dessert up in our room. And I think you should have a nap before the banquet and dance…." She continued to babble as they headed down the hallway to the restaurant. Reid couldn't help but smile.


	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds, sometimes I wonder about my own.

A/N: Appreciate all the reviews and PM. You're an awesome bunch.

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"So what happens now," Allie asked after she and Reid had joined the team in the restaurant and the couple had ordered. "Do you think he'll try anything at the banquet and dance? It's a little late to cancel something like that but do you think we should? I mean what if…"

"Allie, slow down girl, you're getting as bad as Reid," Morgan interjected.

"Oh, I'm sorry Morgan," Allie answered sweetly. "I was just a little concerned about a serial killer possibly attacking my friends," she ended sarcastically causing the rest of the team to smirk.

Morgan looked at his friend. "Reid, you got one sassy little girl here man."

"Yeah, Morgan, I know," Reid replied, smiling at Allie. Conversation stopped briefly as their meals arrived.

"Well, am I wrong to be concerned? He's after people in my class and, well, what better time to strike than when there's a bunch of us here, all together," Allie continued.

"You have a point Allie," Emily took a forkful of her salad. "It would be the perfect time for him to act and it's hard to watch everyone."

"Hotch, could you get us into the banquet as waiters, waitresses or bartenders, something like that, so we can keep an eye on things," JJ inquired?

"Well, Reid'll be there," Morgan stated as he blew on his steaming chili.

"And I'm taking my Glock," Reid mumbled, his words only halfway intelligible, as he chewed on his burger.

"Didn't your mother ever teach you not to talk with your mouth full," Morgan chastised his friend. "What are you eating anyway man?"

"What," Reid said looking at his lunch which consisted of a Cobb salad, a burger and fries.

"I don't know how you can eat like that and stay so skinny," JJ wondered. "I hate you."

"He has a naturally high metabolism and he burns it off," Allie explained, winking at Reid.

"Oh right, how," Morgan asked? "He never works out." He looked between the two. "Oh no, there's no way you can burn that many calories," he lowered his voice to a whisper, "Having sex."

"Actually Morgan," Reid informed, "Sexual activity is a legitimate way to burn off a significant number of calories," he bit a French fry, "Depending on the intensity and frequency of course."

"Oh, of course," Morgan echoed with sarcasm. "And I suppose you're always intense."

"Very," Allie answered to which the whole table burst out laughing, lightening the mood considerably.

When lunch was over, Hotch said he was going to check with LPD and the hotel security to see what could be arranged for protection for the reunion activities planned for that evening. He also said he would check with the hotel to see if any of the team could be positioned as serving personnel for the banquet. "JJ, you better check in with the press. We don't want false information floating around out there."

"Right, I'll talk to Dan Breydon at the Lancaster Eagle Gazette; give him the general lowdown as we know it."

"If Kullman doesn't make a move tonight, we'll head back to Quantico in the morning. The LPD know who they're looking for and the APB is out. The alumni will be aware to watch out for Kullman so there's really no need for us to hang around." Hotch informed the team who nodded in response.

The group dispersed, Hotch to contact LPD and the hotel security, JJ to get in touch with the reporter from the Eagle Gazette, Rossi was going to check on the status of the APB, while Morgan and Emily were going to work on some of the paperwork generated by the case and to check on any preliminary reports from the fruits of the morning's search. Reid and Allie were going to their room until it was time to get ready for the evening's festivities.

After the door to Reid and Allie's hotel room closed, he said, "Are you okay, you've been quiet since we left the restaurant." Allie had been silent since the group had separated to perform their assigned tasks.

She sat on the bed, fingering the burgundy piping on the edge of the gold bedspread. "I'm just kind of scared you know, not for myself but for one of my classmates and I don't even know who. That's what's making me crazy. I'm racking my brain, trying to think who might be next. Was there somebody who was really mean to Darcy? Was there somebody who slighted her in some way? I keep thinking if I can come up with someone, I could warn them, but I can't think of anyone. I keep going over things that happened at school in my head and I can't think of anything. It's so frustrating because I want to help."

"You have helped. You've been a major help from the very beginning," Reid reminded her. "We wouldn't be where we are now without you. But, it's our job to profile the killer and find the next victim, not yours. You've done more than your part in all this."

"What if somebody gets hurt or killed because of something I should have seen because I know these people." Allie lamented. "This trip was a bad idea from the get go wasn't it? First my family is rude to you, then this murder thing comes up and my Dad ends up being Daryl's lawyer and is nasty to you and now one of the class might be in danger and there's nothing I can do to stop it. Next time I suggest a trip remind me of this and slap me upside the head, okay!"

Reid moved to the head of the bed and sat with his back to the headboard. He patted the bed next to him. Allie hesitated then moved to sit beside him. Reid wrapped his arms around her and began to softly stroke her hair as she nestled her head on his shoulder.

The couple remained this way for a while when Allie said, "We were supposed to be having mind-blowing sex and working off that lunch."

Reid kissed the top of her head, "I like this better."

"Liar," she replied, the word muffled by her face in his shirt.

"Would I lie to you," he responded, his cheek resting on her head.

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He looked at his reflection in the mirror. The blond hair color made a huge difference in his appearance, he thought, and the scruff he'd grown and also dyed blond made him look even less like himself. He barely recognized himself nowadays anyway he conceded. He reached for the little box and took out a blue contact lens which he put in his left eye. The procedure was repeated on the right. The effect was striking, if he did say so himself. He completed the look with a pair of nondescript wire rimmed glasses. He surveyed the man before him. Yes, that would do nicely. He picked up the yearbook and turned again to the page he had dog eared. There she was, smiling back at him. He was about to wipe that smile off her face for good.


	23. Chapter 23

Disclaimer: Repeat after me, I do not own Criminal Minds

A/N: Go ahead, make my day, you do when you send a review, really!

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Emily came out of the bathroom dressed in a black skirt, a white blouse with a burgundy vest. At her neck she wore a black bow tie. Hotch, Rossi and Morgan were similarly attired.

JJ came rushing into the room, "Sorry it took so long. I talked to Dan Breydon. I told him I would give him all the info when something broke but, and it's a big but, he said he saw a van from WBNS TV, the CBS affiliate from Columbus, in town. Since the APB is out, they may be here following the lead and if that's the case, then all bets are off and Breydon will go with what he's got to beat the TV news. I didn't tell Dan that Reid came up with this idea. I thought it best not to mention him."

"Considering how the press hounded him and Evan after the Billingsly thing, that was probably a good idea," Emily agreed.

"Factor in the way Allie's feeling about this and her father being involved, the last thing my man needs is the press," Morgan added.

"Okay JJ, you did your best. We'll have to wait and see what happens," Hotch replied.

"From the way everyone is dressed, I take it we're working the banquet."

"Yeah," Emily answered, "Your uniform's in the bathroom." JJ saluted and headed off to get changed.

"We better get wired up while JJ's changing," Rossi added as they started putting on microphones and earpieces. JJ emerged from the bathroom to find them doing sound checks.

Hotch, Rossi and Morgan holstered their weapons in ankle holsters while the women decided to keep theirs on their trays under a napkin. Emily was helping JJ get wired when they heard, "Is everything arranged for the evening?"

The team looked up to find Reid standing just inside the door. He wore a navy blue suit, a white shirt complemented by a red and navy tie accented with a gold metallic thread running through it. A red silk handkerchief and black shoes that shone like glass completed the look.

"Is that Reid," Emily whispered to JJ as she helped her affix her microphone inside her blouse?

"Looking pretty good Reid," JJ stated. "I don't know. If I were Allie, I don't think I'd want to be taking you where there are available women."

"JJ, uh, thanks, I think," Reid replied.

"Reid you look very handsome. Allie is a lucky girl," Emily added.

"Oh for God's sake," Morgan interjected, "The guy put a suit on, big deal. It's still Reid."

"I see you're all going to be working the banquet," Reid remarked, noticing his teammates matching outfits.

"Yes," Hotch answered, "Morgan, Prentiss, JJ and I are waiting tables. Rossi's assisting the bartender."

"Uh, Reid, haven't you forgotten someone," Morgan asked?

"She's still getting ready. It seems to take women longer," Reid explained, walking into the room.

"You have your weapon Reid," Rossi asked, noticing Reid's Glock was not in its usual position on his right side.

"Yeah," he opened his jacket, "I wore a shoulder holster."

They explained what they had done with their weapons and shared the fact that they were wired.

"Sounds good. Anything back on any of the knives we confiscated from the Kullman home?"

"Nothing yet," Emily sat on the couch. "Lancaster has to do casts of all the knives and then correspond with New York. It'll probably take a while."

"Yeah," Reid nodded, "What did LPD say? Are we going to have a police presence here tonight?"

"They're sending us some officers in plain clothes," Rossi informed him.

"It sounds like we'll have the place fairly well covered." He turned and leaned against the table that held the fax machine. "That along with the hotel security sh…" The team watched as his eyes widened and his mouth gaped. They followed the direction of his gaze. Allie stood in the doorway.

Allie was clad in a red dress cut low enough in front to allow generous cleavage to overflow from the pleated bodice. The pleats were embedded with silvery glitter. Spaghetti straps held the dress in place while the rich red fabric molded to the curves of the young woman's body ending a couple of inches above the knees, accentuating her legs which were further enhanced by toeless red stiletto heels. Her normally straight dark hair had been curled and teased until it fluffed around her head like a corona. Her lips shone a deep glossy red. She was devoid of jewelry except for a slim white gold bracelet. She carried a red clutch, pleated and glittered like the bodice of her dress.

Allie looked appreciatively at Reid, seeing him in his suit for the first time. "You look terrific."

Reid was speechless which his teammates found rather amusing. "Earth to Reid," JJ was unable to keep the laughter out of her voice.

"Huh, oh yeah, what," Reid replied.

"Well it speaks anyway," Emily laughed as well.

Morgan looked at Allie, "Giiirrrl, what have you done? You look marvelous!"

"Oh come on Morgan, she put on a dress, she's still Allie," JJ teased.

"W-wow," Reid finally spoke, to the laughter of his teammates. He approached his girlfriend. "Wow," he said again. "You are…You are gorgeous." He reached out to touch her hair.

"You like," she smiled and pirouetted for him.

"Oh yeah," he nodded, "I definitely like!" His beaming smile lit the room.

She looked at the team. "So you're all working at the banquet?" The team all answered in the affirmative and Allie nodded sadly. "This isn't exactly how I saw tonight in my mind but hey, c'est la vie!" She took Reid's hand, "At least you'll be with me. That's good, right?"

"Yeah, that's good," he replied, "I wouldn't want to be anywhere else."

"Ooh, you're such a liar," she said good naturedly.

"Okay, we have to go and pretend to be hotel employees. We'll see you both later. I know tonight's not what you hoped for but try and enjoy the evening" Hotch said as he and the others headed for the ballroom, leaving Reid and Allie alone.

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He was lucky there had been a cancellation, he thought as he looked around the hotel room. They would be watching for him trying to get into the hotel. They thought they were so smart. They didn't realize he'd been here for hours. Soon it would be time. He'd kill two birds with one stone. He lifted the beer can to his lips and drained its contents. He flattened the can with one hand and threw it in the wastebasket with the others. Soon.


	24. Chapter 24

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds; it belongs to someone far brighter and richer (sniff!)than I.

A/N: Your reviews and PMs continue to be a bright spot in my day.

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Alumni from the 2002 Mount Pleasant High School class started to filter in to the hotel. The doorman, dressed in the same black pants and white shirt as the team with the exception of a burgundy blazer and black necktie instead of the vest and bow tie, greeted them warmly as they arrived. He studied them closely. Officer Mitch Crawford had a picture of the man he was looking for in his breast pocket. This was the most exciting thing to happen in Lancaster in, well, ever, and he had eagerly volunteered to be part of the plain clothes contingent supplied by the LPD to assist the FBI in capturing Daryl Kullman. Greeting these people at the door with a smile plastered on his face was not what he'd had in mind. He wanted some excitement! He looked over at the desk where the hotel desk clerk, Sean O'Shea, and his 'assistant', Detective Hollis, were talking. Hollis looked in the officer's direction and Mitch shook his head.

The desk phone rang and Sean O'Shea answered courteously. He spoke to the guest on the phone and said, "Yes sir, I'll tell him right away sir." He hung up the phone and pressed a button, then spoke into his headset. "Andy, Mr. Pritchard in Room 311 called, he said he promised you a tip when he had some money. You can go to his room and pick it up then you might as well go. Your shift is over in ten minutes anyway."

"Does that happen often, somebody calling to offer the bellboy a tip," Hollis asked?

"No, not often, once in a while, it's usually little old ladies and they feel bad that they didn't have any cash to give the nice little bellboy. Most times it's the opposite; they tell you they have no cash and they'll find you later to get out of giving you a tip. I know all about it. I was a bellboy before I got the job as desk clerk," Sean explained.

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Andy Reiser got off the elevator on the third floor and sauntered down the hall to room 311. You just never could tell about people, he thought. He'd been sure that Mr. Pritchard had been lying when he told him he'd catch him later. That just proved there were still honest people in this world Andy thought as he knocked on the door and it was opened by the blond haired Mr. Pritchard. He thought the blue eyes that surveyed him through the wire rimmed glasses looked cold and dead. That was the last thought he had before he felt a sharp pain and blackness overtook him.

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The distinctive pop sounded as the cork was released from yet another bottle of wine. Rossi didn't know how many bottles he'd opened now, but enough to hope that his career as a bartender would be as short as possible. Gary Lovett was in a bit of a snit. He was an excellent bartender. He was quick and his drinks were good. He'd never had any complaints. He didn't know why he suddenly needed an assistant. Sure they expected a good sized crowd but he'd tended larger crowds. He could handle it. Did the hotel suspect him of something, he thought as he polished some glasses? Is that why this Dave guy was here, to watch him? Did they think he was going home with more than just his salary and tips? The guy was no pro, any fool could see that. He'd have to be careful around him he decided.

JJ stared out at the tables as memories of Saturday nights and sore feet flooded back. Scholarships only provided so much. Unlike Emily, whose parents' wealth had provided everything and Reid, whose genius allowed him to tutor to supplement his scholarships and avoid the manual labor most students had to resort to to get through college, she had waited tables. Oh well here goes, she thought, as she hefted the tray full of bottles of champagne with a groan and began distributing them to each of the tables so they were ready for the toasts.

Hotch and Morgan, like JJ, were placing champagne on the tables. Emily and a couple of the other waitresses were doing the final touches on napkins and place settings. One waitress moved from table to table lighting candles just as some of the alumni started to arrive.

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He looked at himself in the hotel room mirror. He was right. Andy Reiser's uniform fit him perfectly. Well, he'd had to use his own white shirt. Andy's had blood on it but luckily for him the vest was burgundy and the pants were black. Any blood on them was unlikely to show. He looked at the boy on the bathroom floor, a pool of blood beneath his head. He felt bad about that, he really did. He had nothing against the kid. He just needed the uniform.

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Reid and Allie were sitting on the couch in the hospitality room, holding hands. "You know, don't you, that as much as I wasn't looking forward to this, I wanted it to be nice for you. I'm sorry if my weird brain picking up on the oddities of those deaths spoiled it for you."

"I know that. Do you think I don't know you'd never intentionally hurt me you idiot?" She laughed, "I bet people don't ever call you that." Her face became serious. "I know once the realization hit you that something was wrong with those deaths you couldn't ignore it. You wouldn't be the man I love if you could." Reid blushed bright crimson and Allie giggled. "After all we've done together," she raised her eyebrows and elbowed him in the ribs, "I didn't think I could still make you blush. I'm sorry too; I was being a selfish bitch."

Reid looked deadly serious. "Hey, hey there, don't ever speak that way about the woman I love."

"Or what, what are you gonna do about it bucko?" Fortunately, or unfortunately for Allie, Reid knew her ticklish places. Her laughter carried out into the hotel hallway.

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The hotel's Imperial Ballroom was starting to fill. The BAU team had seen no sign of Daryl Kullman and neither had any of the police or security staff stationed throughout the building. Rossi was filling an order for scotch on the rocks when he saw Reid and Allie make their appearance. He quietly informed the others that the couple had arrived. Allie spotted her friend Karen Ross and pulled Reid over to their table. At least this evening there wasn't the baby to contend with, Reid thought with relief. They greeted the couple, Karen in a black one shouldered sheath with a high slit and Craig in a black suit. The women spent time commenting on each other's clothes and finally sat down. Reid headed for the bar to get the drinks and check in with Rossi.

As Reid gave his drink orders, Rossi informed him quietly that there had been no sign of their suspect. Reid nodded heading back to the table with the drinks. He reached the table just as Chantal and Mark arrived. The periwinkle dress with a fitted sequined bodice and a chiffon skirt of varying lengths and layers did an excellent job of attempting to conceal Chantal's pregnancy. Her strawberry blond hair was worn in an up do and adorned with some periwinkle flowers. Mark wore a gray suit. The three women were babbling excitedly. Reid was glad to see Allie enjoy herself while he kept an eye out for Kullman.

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He checked his pockets to make sure he had everything he needed. He gave himself another cursory look in the mirror. He picked up the yearbook and looked at the picture one more time. "It's time for you to pay little girl." He whistled as he hung the Do Not Disturb sign, closed the door to room 311 and headed for the elevator.


	25. Chapter 25

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds

A/N: Thanks to all who read and reviewed, they always bring a smile to my face. CC: I'm still imagining Reid in those tights and a cape (Sigh)!!

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The banquet was in full swing and well attended. No one appeared to have let fear of Daryl Kullman scare them away. Reid's last check with Rossi at the bar had revealed no sighting of their suspect. Had he expected the police to be here and stayed away on purpose, Reid wondered. He had hoped that Daryl was devolving enough that he couldn't resist the temptation. Maybe he was wrong. The meal of prime rib with roast potato and steamed vegetables had just been finished and the servers were clearing the tables. Reid would have smiled at Emily clearing away his dirty dishes if the reason behind it hadn't been so serious. A decadent chocolate cheesecake followed and Allie groaned at what it would do to her figure but dug into it with relish anyway, causing Reid to chuckle. "Oh shut up Mr. I can eat anything and not gain an ounce Reid." She slapped him good naturedly on the shoulder.

Reid leaned over and whispered, "I'll help you work it off later," alluding to their lunch conversation.

Allie smiled, "Well now, that's an offer I can't refuse."

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He had passed by the ballroom a few times. No one noticed him. The police thought he worked for the hotel and the hotel employees assumed he was an undercover cop or Fed since he didn't resemble himself at all. Yes it was working out very well. Once the meal was over and the dance started he would be able to make his move. He'd already seen her sitting there beside the FBI agent. He could hardly wait.

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Reid was again at the bar talking to Rossi. "So far nothing," Rossi informed him.

"I was so sure he'd be unable to resist the temptation. It's like dangling a carrot in front of him. Maybe he's still worried about self preservation," Reid stated.

Gary Lovett looked at Rossi and then at the people behind Reid. "Dave, do you want to do your chit chatting when you're on a break; there's a bit of a line." Gary gestured with his head to the area behind Reid.

Reid looked behind him. "Oh sorry, my fault, never know when to shut up, ask anybody." He took the drinks, arriving back at the table to find the women gone. "Where are the girls," he asked?

"Ladies' room," Mark responded, relieving Reid of his scotch on the rocks.

"Alone," Reid probed, trying not to appear overly concerned.

"Of course, alone," Craig laughed, "Well, not totally alone, alone together. Did you ever notice women never go to the john alone. Do they hold each other's hands or something while they're in there? They can't all have to go at the same time."

"Well, nowadays," Mark said, "Chantal's in there half the time. She's up and down all damn night."

"Oh I remember that," Craig agreed. "When Karen was pregnant with Heather, I was lucky if I could get in there at all."

He could not believe it. Now the men were talking about the bathroom habits of the pregnant woman. What had he done to deserve this? Had he done something really bad in a former life? He was just wondering if he should go looking for Allie when he saw the three women enter the ballroom. Relief coursed through him although he tried to look unconcerned.

There was recorded music as opposed to a live band. The lights dimmed, the music started and couples made their way to the dance floor. Karen and Craig, and Chantal and Mark, got up to dance. Reid and Allie remained at the table. Reid had never learned to dance and was very self conscious even with people he knew well. Allie loved to dance, he knew, and he could see her foot tapping to the music and her body swaying in her chair as she watched her former classmates circle the floor. When the first song ended, Mark and Chantal returned to the table. "I used to be able to dance all night but right now I tire easily so one dance here and there is enough for me." Chantal sat gingerly on the chair. "What's the matter with you girlfriend, you love to dance; why aren't you out there?"

Reid responded before Allie had the chance. "It's my fault, I'm afraid I'm a very poor dancer. I never really learned and I have two left feet."

"Well, you're in luck, Mark loves to dance and I'm too tired to dance too much so why don't you two go," she told her husband and best friend.

"Thanks," Reid said when Mark and Allie had gone to the dance floor. "She really likes to dance so she'll be happy now."

"You think so; I thought you were a genius and an expert on human behavior." Chantal challenged.

"What are you getting at?"

"Do you think Allie is going to be happy dancing with my husband," she asked pointedly?

"Well, she likes to dance and he's a good dancer, so why not," Reid replied.

"Spencer, a large part of the enjoyment of dancing comes from the closeness to your partner. You see the way the lovers hold each other. Allie loves to dance but she doesn't want to dance with Mark, she wants to dance with you. She doesn't care if you're good or you only stand in one spot and sway. She wants the closeness with you. She loves you. She's proud of you and it's got nothing to do with whether or not you can dance. I'll shut up now," she laughed.

Reid excused himself to go to the men's room. He talked to one of the LPD officers who had nothing to report. The man looked totally bored and the tone of his voice relayed that he felt the evening was a total waste of time. Reid thanked him and returned to the ballroom as one of the waitresses walked by. "Excuse me…"

"Where did Spencer go," Allie asked upon returning from her dance with Mark.

"He said he was going to the men's room," Chantal told her friend. "Oh, here he is now." Reid came up behind Allie.

"You were looking for me," he asked?

"Just wondered where you were."

"I was getting up the nerve to get on the dance floor," Reid squeaked.

"You don't have to dance, I know you don't like it," Allie replied.

"Well, I have to," he grabbed her hand to head to the floor. "They're playing our song."

"Uh, honey, we don't have a song," she reminded him.

"We do tonight, and there it is," he led her to the dance floor as the familiar percussion of a popular old song started to play followed by the intro before Chris de Burgh started singing about dancing with The Lady in Red.

Allie's eyes filled with tears as she threw her arms around her man. He held her in his arms and shuffled his feet awkwardly to the music as Allie followed. He glanced back at the table and Chantal gave him the thumbs up.

Morgan and Emily were watching from the door to the kitchen. "He can't dance but my man's got class," Morgan said.

The song ended and Allie raised her head from Reid's shoulder, tears softly dampening her cheeks. "Was it that bad," Reid asked, wiping the tears with his thumbs.

"It was the best dance I've ever had." Allie whispered, "And now my makeup is a mess. I gotta go fix it. Thank you," she softly kissed his lips.

They met Karen and Craig going for another dance as they returned to the table. "I have to go fix my makeup," Allie informed Chantal. Her friend got up awkwardly and they made their way to the ladies' room.

Allie was fixing her makeup and Chantal who'd just come out of the bathroom stall was washing her hands, when a voice said, "Well, alone at last!" Both women turned. "Well, if it isn't Tweedledee and Tweedledum," Daryl said, standing by the bathroom entrance, his back to the door.


	26. Chapter 26

Disclaimer: I do not own anything noticeable

A/N: Thanks to all who take the time to read and review.

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Allie was fixing her makeup and Chantal who'd just come out of the bathroom stall was washing her hands when a voice said, "Well, alone at last." Both women turned. "Well, if it isn't Tweedledee and Tweedledum," Daryl said, standing by the bathroom entrance, his back against the door.

"What the…"Chantal uttered.

"It's Daryl," Allie told her friend nervously.

"No, it's…" Chantal looked more closely at the man.

"He's changed his hair color, grew a bit of a beard but it's him. I heard his voice yesterday at the police station. It's him," Allie said.

"Very good Allie, you always were a bright girl weren't you. Science nerd, quiz bowl team," Daryl fired back.

"W..what do you want with us," Chantal asked, her hands instinctively covered the child still in her womb?

"I want to kill you, you idiot, what do you think?"

"Look, if you want to kill me because I'm working with the FBI, I get that, but Chantal has nothing to do with it. You can let her go." Allie tried to reason with the man.

"You don't get it, do you. I was never after you Allie. Chantal is the one who needs to die. You're just, what do they call it, collateral damage." Chantal's breathing was audible and rapid now; Allie's heart was pounding in her ears but she knew she had to try to stay calm. Daryl continued, "I liked you Allie, I really did. You were always nice to Darcy. I really didn't want to hurt you. I just wanted you to know how it felt, to lose a sister. You two are just like sisters, always together, Allie Graham and Chantal Grant.

"You don't have to hurt Chantal to get at me. Do what you want to me but let her go," Allie pleaded.

"No," he said loudly, "Chantal has to die for what she did to Darcy."

"I never did anything to Darcy," Chantal responded tearfully.

"Do you remember when Cindy Tyson moved away?" Chantal nodded absently, trying to understand why this was important and not succeeding.

"There was an opening for the choir and Darcy tried out. Mr. Morphy told her she had a lovely voice and he was going to give her the spot, but then you rushed in, late as usual, but Mr. Morphy still let you audition because you smiled prettily at him and he gave you the spot that was Darcy's."

"You can't be serious. You can't want to kill me over a spot in a choir five years ago," Chantal was disbelieving.

"He's serious," Allie whispered, "He's devolving."

Chantal looked confused again, "He's he's de..what?"

"Alright, enough chit chat, we're getting out of here." He reached into his pocket and pulled out something which he clicked with his thumb, and a sharp shiny blade emerged from the handle. Allie suddenly wondered if it was the knife that had killed Laurel Jamison. "We are going out of here and down the hall to the back entrance. One word out of either of you and the other gets it. You got that? I've got nothing to lose and if I'm going down, one of you is going with me. You hear me?" The two women nodded.

He motioned with his hand for them to come over to him. He opened the door slightly, looked around, then opened it all the way, pushing the women ahead of him. Allie could feel the sharpness of the knife at her back. She could hear the music and voices coming from the ballroom. She tried to think of a way to alert someone but she couldn't risk Chantal and her baby, so she walked silently in front of Daryl. They saw a plain clothed police officer at the door, dressed as a hotel employee. He looked at them as they approached the door. "Hi," Daryl said in a bored manner. "Is this night never gonna be over. The ladies need some air. Can you believe it; the FBI guy can't even escort his own girlfriend out for some air. Who was his slave last week?"

"I hear ya; I picked up this shift tonight hoping there'd be some excitement in this town for a change. Nada," he said as Daryl, Allie and Chantal made their way out the door.

"That's it, keep going girls, nice and easy," Daryl commanded as the two women walked obediently in front of him. The hotel parking lot was full of vehicles but devoid of people Allie noted as he directed them toward his vehicle. It was well lit but Allie could see no way out of the present predicament, not with Chantal's condition. Allie knew she couldn't hope to fight him alone and Chantal was in no condition to help. If they couldn't get out of the situation she'd have to do something to help Spencer find them, she told herself.

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Craig and Mark had taken it upon themselves to entertain Spencer with stories of their exploits on the football field. Craig had just filled Reid in on one of Mark's finer moments, a field goal against their cross town rivals with only one second left on the clock. "Talk about tense. Man that was tense!" Mark said as his friend patted him on the back.

Tense, Reid laughed inwardly, if they thought that was tense, he wondered how they'd feel about having a madman point a gun at your head and keep pulling the trigger, or watching said madman murder people on a computer screen while you were tied to a chair or maybe sitting in a darkened ER with your hands tied having to make one shot count against another madman with an M4 on full auto, or how about trying to get a Muslim terrorist to reveal the site of a planned anthrax attack that could wipe out thousands; or perhaps entering a train car, to face yet another madman armed with two guns and holding a bunch of hostages, with nothing but a computer chip and a magic trick. Then of course, there was straddling a teenager who'd slit his wrists, trying to apply enough pressure to keep him alive; or, possibly, as a ten year old, needing to lock up all the knives in the house because your mother, when off her meds, sometimes mistook you for a fascist spy. Or lastly, having your bone marrow sucked out of you to be transfused into your little brother in an attempt to save his life. He liked Mark and Craig but, he decided, they did not know the meaning of tense.

"The girls seem to have been gone for a while," Reid said. "I hope there's nothing wrong."

"Oh, you know women, they probably met somebody in the hallway and they're talking." Craig looked at Mark thinking Spencer was one uptight character.

"I'm just going to go have a look," he said, getting up and heading for the ballroom door. There was no sign of them in the hall. He walked along to where the restrooms were and saw an out of order sign on the women's bathroom door. It hadn't been there before. So if the girls weren't there, where were they? He walked a little further down the hall and saw the officer he'd spoken to earlier.

"Oh, you're looking for your girlfriend," he said. "The waiter took them outside." What waiter Reid thought. Had they maybe gone out with Hotch or Morgan?

"When was this," Reid asked?

The man chuckled, "What do you mean, when was this, the guy told me you asked him to escort the ladies out to get some air, so you would know when it was better than I would."

"What guy," Reid said, his voice rising, "I never told any guy to escort Allie outside."

Reid's and the officer's eyes both widened and they ran out to the parking lot. Allie and Chantal were nowhere to be seen. "Allie," Reid called, running through the parking lot, the officer joining him, sensing the urgency. Reid came to an empty parking stall and saw something on the ground. He took the silk handkerchief from his pocket and picked it up. It was a red pleated clutch that matched Allie's dress. Things had suddenly gotten tense!


	27. Chapter 27

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A/N: Thanks for all the thought provoking reviews and some provoke thoughts which I'm sure shouldn't be there but I like it!

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Minutes later the BAU team was standing in the hotel parking lot. "How the hell could you let him out of here with them," Reid said angrily to the officer. Mitch Crawford took the picture out of his breast pocket. "He didn't look anything like this," the young man responded. "His hair was blond and he had a little scruff, also blond, blue eyes and glasses."

Reid took his cell out and contacted Garcia, filling her in on the situation. "I need the GPS location of Daryl Kullman's vehicle." He hung up and headed for the hotel.

"Where are you going," Morgan asked?

"To the ballroom, I have to tell Mark Jeffries that a serial killer has his pregnant wife. Then I have to call Allie's parents."

"Reid would you like one of us to do that, JJ could do it," Hotch asked, concerned for his young agent.

"No, I know them, it's better coming from me. Thanks anyway." He resumed walking to the hotel then turned back to them, "I should have gone to the ladies' room with them. I should have kept a better eye on them. This is all my fault."

"No Reid, it's not your fault," Rossi replied. "There was no sighting of Kullman. No one had any reason to think he was in the building."

"We had every reason to think he was here," Reid yelled back. "The profile told us that David. How could I have been so stupid not to think he'd disguise his appearance?" He again headed back into the hotel.

Morgan's cell rang, he looked at the call display and answered, "Talk to me baby girl."

I checked the GPS; it's parked at Lincoln and Willowdale. It's been parked there since early this morning so it's not the vehicle he used," Garcia informed him. "How's our boy," she asked.

"He's upset, worried, blaming himself, you know Reid. I'll let you know if there are any developments Thanks sweetness."

"Willowdale and Lincoln," Morgan relayed, "Garcia says it's been parked there all day."

"That's the location of Kullman Motors," Mitch informed them.

"If his car's been parked at the dealership all day, maybe he's using one of the vehicles from the lot," Emily suggested.

"Let's contact Mr. Kullman and find out if there's a vehicle missing. With any luck it'll have GPS," Hotch ordered. "JJ, try to keep a lid on the press." The team headed back into the hotel.

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Mark, Craig and Karen were sitting at the table talking about old times at school. "Hey Spencer," Craig asked, "Did you find the girls yakking with some old friend?"

"Do you guys think we could go out in the hall, it's kind of loud in here?" The others looked at each other unsure of why Spencer wanted them out in the hallway but followed him anyway.

"Spencer, is something wrong? Is it Chantal? Is she feeling sick? Is it the baby?" Mark's questions continued and Reid waited until they were outside the ballroom in the quieter hallway before he told the young man about Allie and Chantal.

"You mean that murderer has my wife…and our baby. No, no, you have to be wrong. No one would want to hurt Chantal." Mark kept trying to convince himself.

"I know how you feel," Reid responded.

"Oh yeah, right, I forgot," Mark said belligerently. "You know everything. If you know so damn much, why didn't you protect them?"

Reid understood the man's anger and decided not to respond to his tone. Although it was killing him to have to admit it to himself, he agreed with Mark. "I have to go find them; I'll let you know when we know anything." Reid nodded at Craig and Karen, trusting that they would stay and support Mark.

He pulled out his cell phone. He did not want to make this call but he couldn't leave it to anyone else. He punched in the numbers and waited for the call to be answered. "Hello, Mrs. Graham…"

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"Morgan and I are going to the dealership to meet with Doug Kullman." Rossi informed Hotch, who nodded as the men left the room.

Mitch Crawford had worked with a sketch artist to get a picture of what Daryl Kullman looked like now. Copies had been run off and distributed. Detective Hollis had joined the team apologizing for LPD's failure to prevent Daryl from abducting the two women. His cell rang. "Are you sure? Okay, we'll need to get into that room. Have security meet us there with a key." He ended the call and turned to the team. "That was the desk clerk. He recognized the sketch as a guest, Roy Pritchard from room 311." He relayed to the team about the call the desk clerk had received and sending the bellboy to his room. They all headed for the elevator.

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Reid had spoken to the Grahams who were understandably upset. He promised to call with any details. He then found Lance Shoemaker, one of the security guards, who informed him that the team had gone to room 311 and why. Reid nodded, asking to see the security tapes from the parking lot for that evening. He followed the redheaded man, whose hair looked at odds with his burgundy blazer, to the hotel's security headquarters. A large safe took up a good portion of one side of the room. Another part of the room contained a rack full of key cards but the room was dominated by a console where numerous monitors showed images captured by the many cameras throughout the facility. Lance cued one of the monitors and Reid, concentrating on the area where he'd found Allie's purse, fast forwarded until he saw Allie, Chantal and Daryl appear on the screen. They approached a vehicle, a van. Daryl made Allie get into the driver's seat while Chantal got in the passenger side. Daryl got in the back. Reid could see that he had a knife. Visions of Laurel Jamison's body flashed before his eyes as the memory of what Daryl could do with that knife hit home. He knew Allie knew it too. She must be so scared, he thought.

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Hotch, JJ and Emily met head security officer, Rick Moreland, at room 311. They noticed the Do Not Disturb sign on the door. Hotch knocked, identifying himself as FBI. No response came from within and he nodded for Rick Moreland to unlock the door. The large, very well built man, who reminded Hotch of a wrestler, except for his bushy mop of gray hair, slid the card in place and the door opened. The agents, weapons drawn, entered the room. The room appeared to be unoccupied. Clothes were strewn about haphazardly. The wastebasket was overflowing with beer cans. "Look at this," JJ pointed to a yearbook on the bed. It was open at the 'G' page of the graduating class. The picture of Allie Graham leapt out at them but it was the picture next to hers that had been circled in red marker, Chantal Grant.

"Hey guys," Emily's voice from the bathroom, got their attention. At the bathroom door, they saw Emily crouched next to the body of a teenage boy. A large pool of blood lay under his head. It was darkening and starting to congeal. Emily felt for the carotid pulse in his neck but shook her head. Andy Reiser still wore his shirt and underwear but the rest of his clothes were missing.

Hotch's eyes burned with seething anger at Daryl Kullman and at himself. They had had the man in custody. If they had kept him, this boy would still be alive. "Let's call CSI, JJ secure the scene until they get here, then I want you to take care of the notification. Prentiss, let's go find Reid." Hotch and Emily left the room as JJ was on her cell to LPD.

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Reid continued to watch the monitor. He saw Allie start the vehicle and back out of the parking space. He couldn't get a good enough view from the camera angle to ascertain the make or license plate number. The van disappeared from view of this camera but came into view of another although still not at a good enough angle to get any details. Instead of going out the nearest exit to the street, however, the van suddenly turned and headed back to the front of the hotel where Allie braked almost imperceptibly in full view of the security camera. Daryl could be seen in the backseat pointing the knife at Chantal and Allie drove on. "Good girl Allie," Reid said to the image on the screen. He dialed his cell, "This is Supervisory Special Agent Dr. Spencer Reid of the FBI, put out an APB on a late model Dodge Caravan, red, Ohio dealer license plate number David, Charlie, Zebra 9647. One of the occupants, Daryl Kullman, is being sought in connection with six homicides. He is considered armed and dangerous. Contact me at any sighting. Do not, I repeat, do not approach the vehicle. He is in a psychotic break and there are hostages involved." Reid gave his cell number and then ended the call. His cell rang immediately after. "Reid."

"Meet me in the lobby, there's been a development." Hotch said and hung up.

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He flipped the switch and the room was flooded with light. He pushed the women into the room. A baby grand piano sat in one corner and there were various musical instruments throughout the room. Stands held sheet music and the blackboard had the latest assignment printed out. "Sit down," he demanded harshly. Allie and Chantal each took a chair. He walked over to them and ran his knife down Chantal's chin to her neck, not deep enough to make a mark. Chantal whimpered. "So," he said, "Here we are, back where it all began."


	28. Chapter 28

Disclaimer: I own my own mind, such as it is but do not own Criminal Minds.

A/N: Thanks again for all the reviews.

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Morgan and Rossi returned from the Kullman dealership. Doug Kullman had not been overly eager to cooperate but with some persuasion by Morgan and the threat of a possible obstruction of justice charge by Rossi, he had eventually given them the information they needed. They arrived in the lobby just as Hotch had finished filling Reid in on the death of Andy Reiser. "The vehicle we're looking for is…"

"A late model Dodge Caravan, red, license number DCZ 9647," Reid said before Morgan got a chance to give them the news.

"Yeah," Morgan looked surprised, "How did you know that?"

"Allie told me," He recounted the details of his examination of the security tape and Allie driving the vehicle right up to the security camera. "I've already put out an APB."

"There is GPS, I'll get Garcia on it," Morgan took out his cell and punched speed dial.

"Did Kullman say anything about where Daryl might go," Hotch asked.

"No," Rossi replied, "He wasn't really willing to cooperate on the vehicle; so he wasn't about to give us any extra information."

"Even though two women's lives are at stake," Emily interjected.

"He doesn't want to admit to himself his son's a crazed ki…" The doors to the hotel were opening, "Oh no," Reid said!

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"None of you even got to know Darcy." Daryl was pacing the music room.

"We should have tried to get to know her better, you're right," Allie responded. "Why don't you tell us about her." She said softly.

Daryl stopped pacing and looked angrily at Allie for a moment and then his expression softened a little. "She had a really good sense of humor," he smiled at a memory. "She would play practical jokes at home all the time."

"I wish I'd known that side of her," Allie looked at Chantal. Her friend's breathing was very rapid and Allie was afraid she might hyperventilate.

"Did you know she was a real expert with a yo yo? She could make that sucker dance."

If she could keep him talking, Allie thought, she could buy some time for Spencer. Chantal did not look well and Allie was afraid her friend would lose it. Her breathing was still really rapid and she would whimper now and then.

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"Spencer," Joan Graham approached Reid, her usually healthy looking complexion appeared sallow and her red eyes indicated she'd been crying. Lloyd Graham followed closely behind his wife. "Is there any word?"

"Uh, no not yet, we know the vehicle we're looking for, hopefully we'll find it soon," Reid told Allie's mother, nodding at her father.

"Joan," Lloyd touched his wife's shoulder, "Why don't we sit over here," he indicated some loveseats in the lobby, "And let the agents do their jobs?"

Joan turned on her husband, "Shut up Lloyd, just shut up." She yelled. "This is all your fault. Spencer had Daryl in custody but oh no, you had to go threatening people to get him released. Now look what's happened. If anything happens to Allie," tears that had moistened her eyes now started to trickle down her cheeks, "It's on your head Lloyd. I'll never forgive you if that psycho hurts my baby." Joan brushed past her husband and sat on one of the burgundy loveseats.

Reid looked back and forth between the Grahams. He left the others, going over to Allie's mother, who was weeping quietly. He crouched in front of her and removed the red silk handkerchief from his pocket and placed it in her hand. "Believe me, I'll do everything I can to bring Allie home safely and so will everyone on my team. Allie's strong and she'll keep her wits about her. She got that strength from you and Mr. Graham. If anyone can get through this it's her."

Joan reached out with both hands to cradle Reid's face. She leaned forward and kissed him on the forehead. "I can see why my Allie loves you so much."

Reid's voice caught, "I...I love her too. She's an amazing woman and I…" Reid's cell rang. "Reid, where, okay we're on our way." He turned to the team. "That was Garcia, the van's at Mount Pleasant High School."

The team dashed out to their vehicles, hearing sirens and seeing police cars and ambulances speeding down the street. "They aren't going to the high school, are they? We can't go in with lights and sirens. If we spook him, he might hurt the women." Hotch warned Detective Hollis.

Hollis got on his cell, spoke briefly then turned to the team. "They're not going to the high school. There's a fire in a nursing home about a mile up the road. Apparently there are a fair number of casualties."

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Daryl was becoming more agitated. Talking about Darcy had been calming at first, Allie noted but the last few minutes he'd been pacing the room feverishly, his hands shaking. He was talking, but it didn't appear to Allie that he was talking to them.

While Allie was trying to keep an eye on Daryl before he lost control completely, Chantal was becoming an equal concern. Her friend was very agitated as well. Her breathing continued to be rapid and she would moan and whimper more frequently. Allie was afraid of what Daryl might do if Chantal fell apart.

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The team sped down the street and reached the high school at the same time as another squad car and the SWAT team. They found the van parked at the side of the school. Most of the lights in the school were out but they could see light coming from one room although the curtains blocked out any view into the room.

"If they're in that room," Dennis Malcolm, the SWAT sharpshooter said, I won't be able to get a shot with the curtains closed.

The team along with Detective Hollis and some of his men donned their vests in preparation for going into the school. As they were about to head into the building two vehicles came along the street. One car carried the Grahams; Joan was driving, she got out, running over to Spencer, "Are they in there?"

"Mrs. Graham, we haven't had a chance to go in yet. You and your husband really shouldn't be here," Hotch informed the Grahams.

"I told her that." Lloyd said, "But she was coming, so I couldn't let her come alone."

"Please stay back and do not interfere with us in any way. Do I make myself clear," Hotch asked? The Grahams nodded. "If you don't, I will have you removed."

The other vehicle was a bit more of a concern. It was a van belonging to the CBS news affiliate from Columbus and it was the last thing they needed, Reid thought when he saw the van pulling to a stop across from the school.

They found a side door that was open and entered the school. With their flashlights on, they headed down the dark hallway, lined on both sides by lockers, to the room where they suspected Daryl was holding Allie and Chantal. They could hear a voice coming from the room.

"You just didn't care, none of you ever cared," Daryl yelled at the two women sitting in the room. "If anybody, even one person had cared, she might not have done it."

Hotch silently motioned the team into position. Hotch and Morgan were on either side of the door. Hotch gestured with his fingers, one, two, three and Morgan kicked in the door. "Freeze FBI."


	29. Chapter 29

Disclaimer: the usual…..

A/N: Thanks again for all the reviews, they keep me going.

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As the door burst open, Hotch and Morgan entered the room, their weapons leveled at their quarry. "Kullman, drop the knife," Morgan commanded.

Daryl Kullman smiled. He had one arm around Allie's neck in a choke hold. His hand held the knife, ready to draw it across her throat. He backed up, pulling her along with him, "I don't think so."

They could hear Chantal whimpering off to the side. They glanced her way. She sat on a chair, her hair falling from its up do, the flowers seeming to wilt. Tears ran down her cheeks in black streaks from her makeup.

Reid put his weapon down and squeezed past Hotch and Morgan into the room. He raised his hands, facing Daryl and Allie, "I got it Hotch," he said.

Morgan's voice rose, "You got it, man, what do you mean you got it?"

"Just back off, okay," he turned back to Daryl while Hotch and Morgan backed off but continued to have their guns trained on their suspect. The fear in the room was palpable. Reid's eyes met Allie's. "Nobody's gonna shoot, okay." Reid moved further into the room. He could see the fear in Allie's eyes while at the same moment, the scent of her perfume gently gripped his senses. It was the fragrance he associated with love and it seemed almost incomprehensible that he should smell it in this room, full of fear and the threat of violence. "We're just gonna talk here," he continued.

"Why would I want to talk to you?" Daryl's grip on Allie tightened.

Allie tried not to let Daryl feel her fear. She kept her eyes trained on Spencer. She stared at the letters emblazoned on the front of his vest. It suddenly struck her that she'd never seen him in his vest before and she thought how handsome he looked in it. Then she questioned if she was going insane to have such a thought at that moment.

"Because I know what it was like for Darcy. I know what it was like being picked on by the bullies, being laughed at in the locker room and in the bathroom, never being picked for teams, never having any friends, feeling like nothing." He advanced a little further. "Sticks and stones, yada, yada, but words did hurt, didn't they and you had to watch. You had to watch when she'd cry at home. She didn't dare cry at school. The bullies pick on you worse when you cry. You had to watch while she got more depressed. You never said anything at school, did you? You loved your sister but you were well liked and you were afraid of losing that if you stuck up for her. She understood, didn't she and she didn't blame you."

Allie could feel his grip loosen a little. "How do you…"

"But after she killed herself, it haunted you, didn't it, that you'd been more concerned about yourself than sticking up for your sister. You wondered if things might have been different if you had. You hated yourself because of it, so you felt if you went after those who had harmed your sister, you could somehow ease your guilt. It's not working, is it, because your sister's gone and you'll never be able to help her now. No matter how many people you kill Daryl, you'll never feel better."

Tears filled Daryl's eyes as his grip slackened still more. Allie nodded almost imperceptibly at Reid.

"What about Allie? You like Allie. She was nice to your sister. She never bullied her yet here you are with a knife to her throat, ready to kill her. Why? Your parents and her parents are friends. Lloyd Graham is your lawyer and you want to kill his daughter. Andy Reiser was just a kid, he didn't even know you or Darcy, yet he's dead. How many people must you kill Daryl?" He advanced a little further. "It ends tonight, you know that don't you. You're not getting out of here. If you hurt Allie, the people behind me will shoot you dead. Your parents can't handle another dead child. Why don't you let Allie go. We'll see that you get help." He slowly closed the gap between himself and Daryl as Daryl's arm went slack and Reid quickly grabbed Allie, pulling her from his grasp. Daryl fell to his knees and began to weep.

Reid wrapped his arms around Allie as the team moved in to take custody of the killer. Reid watched as Morgan pulled Daryl, none too gently to his feet, shoving him hard against the piano. "Morgan," Hotch admonished.

"What," Morgan replied, "He was resisting." Reid allowed a hint of a smile to come to his lips.

He turned his attention to Allie who had begun to sob uncontrollably in his arms. He tightened his arms around her. She'd been so strong, he understood her need to just break down. He remembered a similar feeling after he'd been rescued in Georgia. "It's okay," he said softly, caressing her hair, "I got ya."

Hotch and Morgan had cuffed Daryl and were leading him out. Hotch motioned to JJ, "The press is out there, I want you to talk to them while we get Daryl processed." Emily was approaching Chantal.

"Mrs. Jeffries, could I help you," she asked the young woman.

"No, no," Chantal started to scream, "Get away, get away."

Reid and Allie turned, "I think maybe she's in shock," Reid said. "It's okay Emily, she knows Allie and me, we'll look after her." Emily nodded and left the room to join the rest of the team.

"Her breathing's been really rapid. I thought she might hyperventilate. She was whimpering and moaning but there wasn't much I could do," Allie whispered to Reid, "I was trying to draw Daryl's attention away from her."

"That was probably wise. She's probably just in a little bit of shock. Who wouldn't be in her condition," Reid replied.

The couple bent down next to Chantal. "Chantal, honey," Allie said, "It's all over, we're safe now. Why don't you let us help you up and we'll go find Mark, he'll be so happy to see you. He's probably a basket case about now."

"Yeah," Reid added, "He was about ready to kill me when he found out you'd been taken right under my nose. I'm really sorry about that."

"Okay Chantal, we're going to help you up, okay, and we'll go to Mark." Allie said as the pair went to either side of her.

"No," Chantal said, "I can't."

"What do you mean, you can't? You don't think you can walk, is that it? Well, I'm sure you're exhausted," Reid remarked.

"It's not that," Chantal said tearfully, running her hands over her expansive abdomen.

"What is it then," Allie asked.

"I think my baby's coming!"


	30. Chapter 30

Disclaimer: You know the drill. I OWN NOTHING

A/N: Love all the reviews, keep them coming!!

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"You think your baby's coming," Allie echoed.

Chantal let out a big breath, "Yeah," she said fretfully.

"You think you're in labor," Reid squeaked and Chantal nodded. "You're having contractions, how far apart?"

"I've been having them for a while. I haven't really been able to time them you know. They're getting pretty close together and pretty intense. I think my water broke; I'm feeling kind of wet. I've been afraid to say anything, to draw attention because I didn't know what Daryl…"

Allie looked, "Oh yeah, it broke alright."

"Uh, should we time the contractions for a few…"

"Aargh! There's one now." Chantal yelled, starting to pant. Reid looked at his watch. Chantal continued to pant until her contraction passed.

"There," Allie said, rubbing her friend's back, "You're doing great Chantal."

"No, it's not great, it's too early," Chantal replied painfully.

"12.7 of births in the United States are preterm," Reid supplied. Both women glared at him, "Oh sorry."

"Ooh," the expectant mother groaned as another contraction started.

"Here we go again," Allie held her friend's hand and tried to assist her with her breathing.

"Two minutes," Reid announced, pulling out his phone.

"Who are you calling," Allie asked?

"911, we need to get her to the hospital." Reid responded. He punched the numbers. "This is Dr. Spencer Reid of the FBI. We have a twenty-three year old female here, eight months pregnant, in labor. The contractions are two minutes apart. We're at the Mount Pleasant High School." He listened to the person on the phone. "There has to be someone." He listened some more. "Well, what are we supposed to do? No, I know what to do in theory. Please send someone as soon as you can." He ended the call. "There was a big fire at a nursing home here. There are quite a few casualties. All the paramedics are tied up. Sooo we're on our own."

"We're on our own," Allie yelled incredulous. She grabbed Reid and pulled him off to the side and whispered, "What are we going to do?"

"I guess we have to deliver the baby."

"Do you know how to deliver a baby," Allie demanded?

"In theory, I mean, I've read books."

"Of course you have," Allie replied

"But I've never actually done it but we don't have any choice, do we?" Reid admitted, attempting not to squeak.

"What do you need," Allie wanted to know?

"Blankets and towels would be helpful. Do you have a nurse's room or an infirmary that might have them? The locker room maybe."

"I'll find them," she said and headed quickly for the door but stopped before she got there, bent down and removed her stilettos. "Those will only slow me down," and she ran out the door.

Chantal continued to breathe through her contractions, and cried. "Oh God, it's too early. My baby's not going to make it."

"Chantal, babies born at thirty-two weeks or more are almost always viable. All the major organs are formed. They're about sixteen to eighteen inches and three to five pounds. I'm sure your baby will be fine." Reid hoped he sounded convincing. He remembered what Allie said about every couple having a baby being a crapshoot but he didn't think it wise to mention that at this juncture.

After what seemed like an eternity, but was in fact only a few minutes, Allie came running into the room, her arms loaded down with towels, blankets, a pillow and a first aid kit.

"Let's get her down on the floor," Reid spread one of the blankets on the floor and Allie and Reid helped Chantal to stand and laid her, somewhat awkwardly, on the blanket. The pillow was positioned under her head. "Comfortable," Reid said.

"Oh yeah, never better," Chantal snapped sarcastically.

Must be in transition, Reid thought. It shouldn't be long now, he figured, as Chantal had another contraction and swore like a sailor.

"Why is this happening to me? The last time I saw the doctor everything was fine," Chantal lamented through her tears.

"It's probably the stress from being abducted by a serial killer. Stress can cause the release of certain hormones that can induce labor," Reid explained.

"Do you have a fucking answer for everything genius," Chantal screamed. Definitely in transition, Reid thought.

Allie helped position Chantal on her back with her knees bent and legs apart. They placed towels around the area where the baby would come. "Okay Honey," she said to Reid.

Reid took position at Chantal's feet, "Uh, Chantal, uh, I'm sorry to uh have to, you know, get this personal," he said before looking under the blanket. "She's fully dilated and I can see the head, which is good. Ninety-six percent of births present head first." He informed them.

Chantal banged her fists on the floor. "I don't care what percentage of babies come head first, and I don't care what percentage of babies are premature and I don't care about hormones that are brought on by alien abductions. I just want this baby out of me healthy. You got that Einstein?"

"Uh, next time you have a contraction, if you could push, okay Chantal." Reid went over in his mind all that he had read about childbirth. "Okay Chantal, when the contraction starts, I need you to take a deep breath, hold it for the count of ten and push. Then repeat it for the length of the contraction."

"I'm having one now," Chantal told them as she did as Reid instructed while Allie supported her from behind. Chantal's long blond tresses were falling from the pins and combs holding them in place, soaked from perspiration. Her makeup ran, as her face was damp from her perspiration and tears. Allie wiped her face with a towel.

The contraction ended and Chantal lay back on the pillow. "What's happening down there Doc?"

"The baby's head is partly out. After the next contraction it should be out," Reid informed the women. "How are you doing Chantal."

"Considering, I'm stuck in my old high school, having a baby with the help of two people who've never done this before, I'm just great. How about you?"

"Good," Reid replied absently, totally immersed in the task at hand as Chantal began to have another contraction and Reid gently guided the baby's head out. "The baby's head is out now Chantal," he informed the young woman as he began to clean off the head and try to rid the baby of secretions from its mouth and nose that could block the airway.

"Oh my God," Chantal said as she squeezed Allie's hand. "Does it look okay?"

"Well, I haven't really seen many babies but it looks fine." It was rather red and wrinkly and covered with guck but he believed that was how they were supposed to look at this stage. Reid remembered when Haley had brought Jack to the office for the first time. The women had made such a fuss over how cute the baby was and he'd thought 'I guess so if you find redness and wrinkles attractive', come to think of it, he thought he'd actually said it out loud. He remembered Garcia asking Morgan if he'd like one and in true Morgan fashion, he'd replied he'd stick to practicing. Oh boy, just practicing sounded like a really good idea about now.

He was jolted from his reverie by the start of another contraction. He gently guided the head downward, as he remembered from his reading, to allow one shoulder to emerge. He then guided the baby upwards and the other shoulder emerged and the rest of the baby followed. He tipped the baby down to try to drain secretions and flicked the soles of the baby's feet and the sound of crying erupted in the room, undoubtedly the sweetest music to ever come from this music room. "You did it Chantal. You're a mother!"


	31. Chapter 31

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds but reading a lot of these stories, I've come to know a few.

A/N: Thanks to all who continue to read and review.

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Reid stared down at his long fingers cradling the tiny, red, wiggling new life. Tears welled up in his eyes and he was amazed that he could be so overcome with emotion, watching this wee person take the very first breath of life. This suddenly seemed like the most important thing he'd ever done. For some reason, he found himself thinking of an old nightmare he used to have about a baby that needed his help. In the dream he was always unable to get to it before it was hurt. Was this that baby? Had he finally gotten to it!

He glanced at his watch to note the time of birth for the authorities when they asked. _Time of birth. _In his job, he was always concerned with the time and cause of death. _Time of birth. _He could think of nothing more awesome than that!

"Spencer!" Chantal was screaming. "Is there something wrong?"

"No, no, I'm sorry Chantal," he cleaned off the newborn as well as he could and wrapped a towel around the babe so that only its little head topped with a thin layer of light hair, was visible. The long cord still protruded as he reached up to the new mother. "Here you go, you have a baby boy. Congratulations Chantal!" He gently laid Chantal's tiny son on her chest.

"Oh my God," the tears flowed down her cheeks. "Look at him Allie, he's so beautiful."

"He is that," Allie softly caressed the baby's cheek. "Welcome to the world, little guy."

Reid looked at the two women who had begun the evening dressed to look their loveliest. Chantal's periwinkle dress was totally unsalvageable, he thought, her hair that had been falling from its stylish up do was now plastered to her head, soaked from the exertion of her labor. Splotches of black smeared her face as her running makeup had been only partially wiped away by Allie's ministrations. Allie's hair was now drooping and wisps stood out all over her head. Her makeup was also smeared on her face. The stunning red dress was hiked up to her hips to allow her to kneel beside her friend, her fashionable shoes long ago discarded. At the start of the evening, he would not have thought these two women could look more beautiful. He'd have been wrong.

Allie looked up to see Spencer watching them, his eyes glistening with tears. He turned away quickly and started cutting a piece off his shoelace with scissors from the first aid kit. "Spencer, what are you doing?"

"I have to tie off the cord. I don't have anything so I have to improvise." He took some antiseptic hand solution from the first aid kit, soaked the shoelace, then tied the cord about four inches from the baby. They suddenly heard the sweet sound of a siren and Reid left the room to meet the paramedics.

Allie was watching Chantal and the baby as they cuddled. Chantal said quietly, "That's quite the guy you got there my friend."

"Chantal, you don't know the half of it."

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They arrived at Lancaster General on the heels of the ambulance carrying Chantal and her son. Allie had called Mark while Reid had called Hotch. Reid had also made sure Allie called her mother. The paramedics had completed the delivery and prepared Chantal for transfer, commending Reid on his handling of the delivery.

They were in the maternity waiting room when a rather harried Mark arrived with Karen and Craig. "Is she okay, is Chantal okay?"

"She's fine Mark," Allie assured him.

"What about the baby? Is the baby okay?"

"As far as we know, he's fine. He might be a little tiny but he didn't appear to be having any problems," Allie relayed.

"What's taking so long?" The new father paced the waiting room. "Why can't I see her?"

"Mark, settle down buddy. They'll let you see her as soon as it's safe for her." Craig tried to calm his friend.

"I'm sure the doctor will be out soon. They have to check Chantal over, you know, do vital signs and things and they have to weigh and measure your son and do apgar tests. It all takes time," Reid stated.

"Well thank you Mr. genius FBI man. Chantal wouldn't be in this position if it wasn't for you so spare me the lesson." Mark looked at Reid with disdain.

Reid looked down at his shoes and sighed, "Allie, I think I'll go to the police station and see how they're doing with Daryl. You can probably get a ride back to the hotel with Craig and Karen and if not, call me and I'll pick you up. He kissed Allie, nodded at the others and left.

Allie turned to Mark. "Alright Mark," she said in a tone that would brook no argument. "Park your butt on that couch, now, and listen carefully, you and I are going to have a little talk."

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The LPD was buzzing with activity. Never before had something this big hit the city. They had in their custody, a man responsible for seven murders, a local no less. The early CBS news van was now being eclipsed by CNN and other news networks especially when they found out the man at the center of the story was none other than Supervisory Special Agent Dr. Spencer Reid, the man who had brought down the presidential hopeful in Washington a while back.

Reid drove up to the entrance, taking in the news vans, and heaved a heavy sigh. "Not again!" He'd had enough of that. He just wanted to do his job. He called to one of the uniformed officers at the entrance and identified himself.

"Oh sure," the officer said, "We all know who you are sir."

"I'm trying to avoid our friends from the fourth estate, so I'd like to dash into the building, if you would be so kind as to park my vehicle for me."

"Oh definitely, Dr. Reid, no problem sir." The young officer appeared awestruck to be in the presence of an FBI agent.

Reid exited the vehicle and ran into the police station before the hounds could catch him and allowed himself an ever so small grin of triumph. He headed for the interview room. He was sure that's where they'd have Daryl Kullman.

He found Hotch, Rossi, Morgan and Prentiss in the observation area watching Kullman who was alone in the interview room. No one mentioned anything about him delivering Chantal's baby so Reid assumed Hotch had kept that piece of information to himself. They asked after Allie and he told them she was okay. "Where's JJ, working on a press conference," he asked.

"Yeah," Emily replied, "There's a hoard of them out there."

"So I noticed," Reid turned to look at the man in the room. "He said anything?"

"No," Rossi informed him, "He's waiting on his attorney. His former lawyer withdrew due to the fact he thought he could no longer zealously represent his client."

Reid nodded sadly; this would be a nasty pill for Lloyd Graham to swallow. He hoped Allie's mother was not still blaming him. He respected Mr. Graham; he'd only been doing his job. He felt that respect was mutual. As the team watched, a man strode confidently into the interview room dressed in a black pinstripe Armani that fit his form to perfection. He had a head of wavy jet black hair, that Reid suspected came from a bottle, deep blue eyes and chiseled features. From under the cuff of his shirt, a very expensive timepiece could be seen, likely Swiss, Reid thought, and he carried a briefcase made from the finest in Italian leather. The look screamed money and power.

"The new lawyer," Rossi stated, "Not from around here, I'd bet.

"No," Hotch agreed, "Probably a hired gun who came for the high profile press coverage."

"I think this stinks," Morgan paced the room.

The man talked to Daryl Kullman for a while then came to the two way mirror and knocked. "I guess we're up," Hotch said, "Let's go Reid."

"You want me to do the interrogation with you, shouldn't you take David or Morgan, they've both got more experience than I have."

Hotch gave his usual stern look, "You seem to know how to get to this guy. Anyway, this has been your case from the very beginning.

Reid followed Hotch to the interview room whispering under his breath, "Here goes nothing."


	32. Chapter 32

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds

A/N: Continued thanks to all those who R and R.

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The doctor came to speak with Mark just after Reid had left. "Mr. Jeffries, your wife is doing fine. Her vitals are stable. There's been no excessive bleeding. Because the baby was small and your friend took great care in easing him out, your wife came away without any vaginal tearing." Mark nodded and the doctor continued. "Your son weighed in at 5lbs 2oz, so he will not require an incubator. We are supplying him with some oxygen and we have administered some surfactant to help with his breathing but his color is good as are his labs and his oxygen saturation is satisfactory for a premature newborn. Your friend did an excellent job of clearing his mouth and nose of secretions to keep the airway open and give your son his best chance."

"Friend," Mark looked confused.

"That's what I was trying to tell you before the doctor came," Allie interjected. "The baby wasn't born in the hospital. He was delivered on Mount Pleasant's music room floor." Mark's mouth gaped open. "And he was delivered by Spencer Reid. You have him to thank for the safety and good condition of your wife and child."

The doctor interrupted Allie, "You should be able to see your wife and baby shortly, congratulations." She left the group standing in the waiting room.

"I didn't want to tell you where the baby was born on the phone; I thought you might freak out." She grabbed his arm and pulled him over to the couch, "There are some things you need to know and you're going to damn well listen."

She told him that Chantal had been Daryl's intended victim. She relayed about the abduction and her reluctance to fight back due to Chantal's condition.

"But why would he want to kill Chantal?"

Allie explained Daryl's motives as best she could but Mark continued to look confused. "I know it makes no sense to any of us but to Daryl there was a twisted logic to it." She continued to recount to her three friends the details of being held by Daryl and eventually rescued by Spencer and the team.

"Allie," Karen asked, putting her hand gently on her friend's arm, "Are you okay? We've all been so concerned with Chantal but you've been through a pretty rough experience as well."

"Oh, I'm fine, I wasn't hurt. Chantal and I," she turned to Mark, "And your baby are alive, thanks to Spencer."

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Hotch and Reid entered the interview room, "I'm SSA Aaron Hotchner," he indicated Reid, "This is SSA Dr. Spencer Reid."

The lawyer stood, "David Treadwell, attorney at law, my client has agreed to this interview over my objections. I'm just getting up to speed on the case since the previous lawyer withdrew."

"You'd expect him to continue after your client abducted his daughter and threatened her life," Reid said angrily. David Treadwell did not respond.

"Let's start with the murder of Brian Dalton," Hotch began.

"Alleged murder," Treadwell interjected, "That was ruled an accident."

"GPS has your vehicle a block from the victim's home at the approximate time of death," Hotch continued.

"Circumstantial, no one saw my client in the vicinity."

"Let's move on to Drake Holloway," Hotch tried again.

"Again, ruled an accident and before you mention the rifle and the hunting license, neither are illegal, Agent Hotchner."

"It was a bullet from your client's father's rifle that killed Holloway," Hotch retorted.

"That death was ruled an accident from a stray bullet. That it may have been fired by my client doesn't mean it still wasn't a stray bullet."

"Laurel Jamison," Hotch said stonily.

"Circumstantial, once again, and if you're going to mention the cat hair, my client is not the only person in that home."

"Are you suggesting one of his parents went to New York and killed Laurel Jamison," Hotch asked incredulously?

"I'm not suggesting anything. It's up to you to make assumptions. You seem to do it so well." Treadwell smirked as he spoke.

"I'm sure when we test the knife we took from your client at the high school; we'll find evidence of Laurel Jamison's blood. You know how pesky those things are to get clean," Reid offered nonchalantly as he stood with his back to the two men, facing the two way mirror. In the mirror, he could see both men behind him tense.

"Pam McPhee," Hotch started for the fourth time.

"Oh please, Agent Hotchner, don't even insult my intelligence with your suspicions that because my client frequented the same deli as Pam McPhee that he is somehow responsible for her unfortunate death." Treadwell said before Hotch was able to question the prisoner.

"Marla Felstead," Hotch named the fifth victim.

"There is no evidence that my client was even in the deceased's home and if you're planning to use his purchase of the toxin as evidence, he's already explained that and provided scientific documentation." David Treadwell smiled smugly. He knew he was starting to annoy Agent Hotchner.

"Did you use food on purpose," Reid mused abruptly, crossing his arms and leaning casually against the wall on the other side of the room? "Pam and Marla were cheerleaders, cute little bodies, watched what they ate, and probably made fun of Darcy in gym and in the locker room. They likely called her names like Fatass, Dumbo or Jumbo, maybe this being the birthplace of General Sherman something creative like the Kullman Tank. Did it seem like poetic justice for Darcy, to kill them with food?" Reid pushed himself off the wall and moved behind Daryl and whispered, "You had to watch didn't you? You had to watch them die. You couldn't risk they'd get help."

"Shut up," Daryl said loudly.

"What happened to Pam, did she get confused, her speech slur, almost like she was drunk. Then she started to wheeze, didn't she. Did she look to you for help as she dug in her purse for her epi pen that she couldn't find because you'd taken it? She started to get really anxious then, didn't she? She knew then didn't she, that she was going to die. Did she realize it was you before she died, before her airway swelled and closed?" He took his hands one on top of the other and closed them into fists to emphasize.

"Shut up," Daryl yelled, banging his hand that wasn't cuffed on the table.

"This interview is over," Treadwell said.

"You think you know so much," Daryl yelled at Reid.

"Daryl, be quiet," Treadwell cautioned his client.

"Yeah, Daryl I do," Reid replied.

"What do you know, Mr. Smartass?"

"I know that it took a long time for Marla to die. She probably wondered why you weren't leaving after dinner. You had to invent an excuse to stay. You couldn't risk leaving and have her feeling ill and calling 911. So you stayed and once she started to get sick, she was glad you were there, wasn't she? She thought you'd help her, didn't she? How did it start, blurred vision, some difficulty talking, feeling weak? Then she couldn't move her arms and legs, could she. Then the difficulty breathing until finally she died." Reid put his hands on the table across from Daryl and leaned forward. "Did she beg you for help? Did you laugh at her?"

"Yeah, yeah, you're damn right I laughed," Daryl yelled, jumping to his feet. "Bitch got what she deserved. They all got what they deserved."

"And what about Andy Reiser, did he get what he deserved Daryl?"

"There is no…" David Treadwell began.

"No counselor, don't insult our intelligence by saying there's no evidence. We found the body in your client's room. His prints were everywhere. His yearbook was on the bed with Chantal Jeffries' picture circled and he was wearing Andy Reiser's clothes. DNA tests will prove that," Hotch told the attorney.

"My client is obviously not of sound mind," Treadwell sighed resignedly.

"That is something you'll have to take up with the federal prosecutor," Hotch replied as he and Reid left the room.

Hotch and Reid joined the others in the observation room. "That went well," Rossi stated the obvious.

"Yes," Hotch nodded "Well, we might as well return to the hotel and get some rest and we'll return to Quantico in the morning."

"It's so bizarre to think that all these murders stemmed from bullying." JJ exclaimed. "I mean, we've all seen it happen and it never seems to be that serious and then something like this happens and you realize the effects can be far reaching. It's food for thought."

"You're right JJ," Reid said taking out his cell and walking away, "I have a phone call to make."


	33. Chapter 33

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds

A/N: Thanks again to all who take the time to read and review.

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He'd fallen asleep in his armchair reading teachers' reports. His head rested on his chest, drool from his half open mouth dampening his grey goatee. He jerked to consciousness when the phone beside him rang. He picked it up instinctively, not looking at the call display. "Hello," he said sleepily.

"Principal Senoff," the voice on the other end asked. He didn't recognize the voice. Would a student be calling him at home late on a Saturday night? The voice sounded older than a student, he thought.

"Yes, this is Jake Senoff," he said, becoming more wide awake.

"I'm sorry to bother you so late on a Saturday night. It's Spencer Reid calling."

"Oh, Dr. Reid, what can I do for you?" Jake Senoff was wide awake now!

"Do you recall asking me a while back to speak to the students about bullying and how to handle it along with some self defense strategies?"

"Yes, of course I remember." Jake Senoff was intrigued. What could possibly have the young FBI agent suddenly calling him this late at night over something that he had mentioned a few months ago? "I assumed you never got back to me because you were too busy. It's a sad commentary on our world isn't it, that a man with your job should be so busy."

"I have been busy but something has made me realize I have to make the time. When bullying is sparking suicides and murders, not to mention the school shootings you're so well aware of, something needs to be done. I probably can't do anything in the grand scheme of things but maybe I can make a difference in my own little corner of the world."

"I'd really appreciate it if you would," the principal replied, wondering what had suddenly affected the young agent.

"I'm out of town right now but I'll get back to you as soon as I return. Thanks for the opportunity. Goodnight Principal Senoff."

"Goodnight Dr. Reid." Jake Senoff hung up and clicked his television remote. He had muted it when he started reading his reports. The news was on, covering a breaking story from Lancaster, Ohio…

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Reid's cell rang and he glanced at the caller ID and smiled. "Hi Evan, what are you doing up so late?"

"Hi Spencer, it's Saturday night, I get to stay up later. I'm not a little kid anymore!" Evan said this as his brother recited the oft heard line along with him.

Reid laughed, "To what do I owe the pleasure of this late night call?"

"Well, I thought you went to Ohio for Allie's reunion and to meet her family but I just saw you on the news and then JJ was talking about catching some serial killer."

"Damn, I was on the news, what was I doing?" He asked his brother, wondering where the cameras had caught him.

"You had your vest on and were going into some school with the team."

The CBS news van must have been filming, Reid thought.

"So, I just wondered," the boy continued, "How you are?"

Reid realized that Evan thought that what his brother did was cool but since he had talked to him about Georgia and had been shot in Atlantic City, the boy worried for his brother's safety and was always relieved to hear his voice after a case. "I'm good, we've got this case wrapped up and Allie and I will be heading home tomorrow. I'll call you tomorrow night when I get home if it's not too late."

"Spencer, call me anyway."

Reid smiled, "Okay buddy, I'll call you tomorrow night."

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Allie walked into the hotel room and kicked off her shoes as the phone rang. She answered it. "Oh hi Mom, I just came from the hospital. Yeah, she's fine, the baby's okay too. No Mom, you don't need to come over. I'm really fine, I'm just going to take a shower and get ready for bed. It's been a long day and I'm tired. No, he's not back yet. He went to LPD to participate in the interrogation. I'll tell him he has your undying gratitude. Have you made up with Dad? Oh you certainly encouraged me to when I was angry at him. What do you mean, he broke down. Dad doesn't break down. Mom is he okay? I've never seen Dad cry. Okay Mom, let me talk to him." She waited until she heard her father's voice on the phone. "Hi Daddy, yes I'm fine. I'm not hurt at all. Spencer's down at LPD now helping with the questioning. It's not your fault Dad, please don't blame yourself. Okay, we've got brunch tomorrow at ten. We'll see you then. I love you too, goodnight." She hung up the phone and headed to the shower, discarding her dress on the way. She started the water running and came out a few seconds later wrapped in a towel to check that the hotel room door was locked.

Reid entered the hotel room to the sound of the shower running. He saw Allie's red dress on the floor and picked it up. He removed his suit jacket and loosened his tie, sat down on the bed and removed his glock. He was exhausted. He heard the shower shut off and he got up and headed for the bathroom. Allie liked it when he rubbed lotion on her back. He turned the knob on the door, it was locked. She never locked the bathroom door, he thought. He knocked on the door. "Allie, do you want me to rub some lotion on your back?" He yelled through the door and heard what sounded like a scream. "Allie, are you alright? Open the door, sweetheart. Allie," he yelled again. "Allie are you okay?" He looked at the door, he wasn't Morgan but something was wrong and he had to get in there. He reared back, raised his leg and kicked the door hard. The door gave way and Allie screamed again. He entered the room to find Allie, standing in the bathtub wearing one of his tee shirts, her hair dripping onto the fabric. In her hand she held a nail file, her arm back, ready to drive it home.


	34. Chapter 34

Disclaimer: I own nothing, no copyright infringement is intended

A/N: Thanks as always to the fantastic crew of CM fanatics that read and review. (I know don't give up my day job)

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Reid noticed the look in her eyes. He knew it well. He'd seen it before. He'd seen that look in the eyes of victims' families. He'd seen that look in the eyes of victims. He'd seen that look in the mirror.

He stood in the doorway, not wanting to scare her by approaching too quickly. "Allie," he said, "It's me, Spencer, okay. There's nobody else here, okay." She nodded but didn't move. She started to shiver from fear and throwing the tee shirt over her still wet body. "I'm sorry if I scared you. I didn't think. Can you come out of the tub, you're shivering." Allie nodded again but still didn't move. "Can I help you, please," he begged. His heart was breaking to see her so frightened. He moved slowly into the room, approaching the woman he loved. It took only a couple of steps to reach the tub. He reached out his hand but didn't touch her and waited. She lowered her arm, dropped the nail file and put her hand in his and then moved it to his shoulder. He put his arm around her and lifted her from the tub. He wrapped her in a warm towel and led her to the bedroom.

She stood near the bed, just staring into space. Reid quickly went to the closet and retrieved an extra blanket and wrapped this around her as well. She allowed herself to be led to the bed. He lifted her onto the bed, sitting beside her, not touching her at first. The shivering was easing up and he put a hand gently on her back. The touch seemed to waken her and she turned and looked at him. "I'm sorry," she said, laying her head on his shoulder while tears overtook her.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. Why would you think that?" He wrapped his arms around her and rubbed her back; glad she had finally spoken and was letting her emotions out.

"Maybe I wasn't careful enough. Maybe I was too cocky. Maybe on some level, I doubted that you were right. I should know better than that by now, huh," she sniffed. Reid reached for a tissue from the bedside table and placed it in her hand. "Thanks," she said with a small grin. "Sorry I was such an idiot just now."

"You were not an idiot. You had a very traumatic day. You were abducted by someone you'd once considered a friend. You had to watch your best friend suffer while you tried to shield her from the worst of it. You had a knife held to your throat and then you had to help deliver your friend's baby. And that was all just this evening." He looked down at his hands. "I'm the one who's sorry. I shouldn't have left you. I should have stayed with you and been supportive."

"No, you had stuff to do," Allie replied. "You had no way of knowing I'd turn into mush. How did the interrogation go? Did you get a confession?" Reid nodded. "See," she touched his cheek with her hand. "I knew they needed you there."

He got up from the bed and went over to the drawers, going through Allie's things. "Where are those blue flannel pajama bottoms you always wear?"

"I didn't bring them," she blew her nose again.

"Your sweats?" She shook her head. "Your granny nightgown?" Again she shook her head.

"I was going to wear that," she gestured to what he held in his right hand. He looked down at a little nightgown, a very little nightgown, in soft cream silk and lace. "I wanted to be sexy for you." He looked at Allie and back at the nightgown, realizing how far removed this weekend had become from what she had planned. "It's okay; I like your tee shirts. Why don't you put on your sweats and we can order some hot chocolate and some devastatingly rich dessert and then watch something totally insane on TV."

"Are you sure you don't want me to call your Mom or something?" She shook her head and pointed to the bathroom so he headed off to change. They would do it her way for once on this trip.

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The day dawned bright and sunny and if you didn't look at a newspaper or turn on the TV, you wouldn't have known anything had happened last evening in this quiet little city. Reid and Allie had gotten their things packed and were down in the hospitality room helping the team pack everything up. They said goodbye to everyone and Reid said he'd see them when he got back.

Allie and Reid were now taking their belongings to the SUV and Reid went to the desk to check out. "It's been taken care of sir," the desk clerk said when Reid went to pay the bill.

"Taken care of," Reid replied, "Taken care of by whom?"

"It doesn't say sir. It just says that the bill's been paid in full. It's stamped and everything. I wasn't present at the time so I don't know."

"Okay," Reid looked bewildered. "Thanks." He went out to the SUV where Allie was waiting.

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They headed for the hospital to visit Chantal. It was a little too early for visiting hours but they were allowing it since Reid and Allie would be leaving before visiting hours and they were the ones who helped deliver the baby.

Allie stopped at the gift shop and picked up a balloon that proclaimed 'It's A Boy' and a little blue teddy bear. She also found a lovely arrangement of flowers that she gave Reid to carry.

When they arrived on the maternity ward, it was quieter than Reid had expected. He had assumed the air would be filled with the sound of crying babies but much to his surprise that was not the case. They went to the nursery first and Allie pointed to a bassinet, "Look, that's him, baby Jeffries." He had a little blue sleeper and a blue cap on and a very tiny nasal cannula delivered oxygen to the newborn. "Isn't he darling?" Reid looked at the baby and was amazed to feel a closeness to the wee boy who had started life in his hands.

They carried on to Chantal's room. Chantal and Allie embraced, "We saw him in the nursery window. He's beautiful."

"That's my boy," Mark said, already the proud father.

"Hi Spencer," Chantal said, "I apologize for my behavior last night. I know I was rude to you."

"Think nothing of it. You were in quite the predicament. I thought you were a trooper."

She turned to Allie again. "He was sixteen inches long and 5lbs 2oz. He's doing really well. They don't think he'll need the oxygen for long. They think he should be able to go home in about a week." Chantal gave them a rundown on the baby's medical condition and got out of bed, saying, "I have to go down to the nursery to breast feed. Come with me Allie." Allie agreed wholeheartedly leaving Mark and Reid in the room alone.

In the hallway Chantal said, "I know you won't actually be able to come in the nursery but I wanted to give the guys some time alone. Mark wants to talk to Spencer." Allie nodded her understanding.

"I'm sorry for the way I acted yesterday. I had no right to take off on you like that," Mark began.

"It's fine, you were under a lot of stress and I should have kept a better watch on them, maybe it wouldn't have happened," Reid replied.

"Chantal and Allie both told me what you did, talking Daryl down and then delivering our baby. I owe you for my wife and son's lives man. I mean, you must have been as frantic as I was, the guy had your woman too but you held it together."

"Well Mark, I've had training. That's the type of thing I deal with every day," Reid explained.

Mark shook his head, "I don't know how you do that but I'm glad that you do." He reached over and offered Reid his hand.

The door opened admitting the women. "He's all fed. The nurse is going to change him and they'll take him off the oxygen briefly and bring him in for a few minutes so Allie and Spencer can see him and then he has to go right back." As Chantal said this a nurse entered with gowns for them to put on. It reminded Reid of the first time he'd seen Evan. The nurse returned with a little bundle in a blue blanket and handed him to Chantal who cuddled him tenderly. "He's so beautiful," she crooned, softly kissing the baby on the forehead. "Would you like to meet your Godmother sweetie?" She handed the baby to Allie who stroked the baby's cheek as she cooed at him. "This is Allie," Chantal said to the wee babe, "Allie, this is your Godson, Reid Graham Jeffries."


	35. Chapter 35

Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds

A/N: Thanks again to all who take the time to review and make my day

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The trip to the Graham home was uneventful. Reid was not nearly as anxious as he'd been the first time he'd come here but after the introduction at the hospital, he was still trying to get his brain around the fact that a child had been named after him. That diverted his mind from much of the anxiety of seeing Allie's parents again. Allie glanced at Reid from the passenger seat. The expression on his face when Chantal had told them the baby's name was priceless. She thought it didn't dawn on him for a moment. She thought Spencer believed someone was speaking to him when Chantal said Reid. Then the realization struck and the shock seemed to hit him. He looked almost catatonic for a moment. He protested to the couple that there was no need but they had assured him it was what they wanted. He still looked a little shocked but honored as well, Allie thought.

They were greeted at the door by Joan Graham who held her daughter for a long time. Lloyd came right behind her and held his little princess, as he called her, more tightly than usual. Reid was content to stand off to the side as the rest of the family shared a few moments of affection and relief that Allie was okay, but Joan would have none of that. "Spencer, you get in here dear," she said, putting her arms around him and hugging him warmly with an affection he felt was real.

Reid retuned the hug because he decided that Joan Graham was a lot like Garcia. She was a force of nature and you either went along or got out of the way. Lloyd shook Reid's hand and put an arm warmly around his shoulder and Reid could see tears in the man's eyes when he whispered, "Thank you for my baby." The others all greeted the couple eagerly. There was a man in the group Reid had never seen before. He was thirtyish, six feet tall with an unruly mop of curly red hair. His face was freckled and his smile was wide and friendly. Chelsea introduced him as her husband Mike Murphy. He clasped Reid's hand in a firm, warm handshake saying, "So you're the FBI guy who's brave enough to take on Allie. It's nice to finally meet you."

Brunch was served, this time in the formal dining room, which was dominated by a huge dining table in a rich mahogany with a matching buffet and china cabinet. The chairs had elegantly curved legs and backs and were upholstered in a rich cream that matched the drapes.

The Grahams had again put on a veritable feast complete with eggs, scrambled and devilled, waffles with numerous sauces and whipped cream, bacon sausage and ham. Along with hash browns and cheese, there were jellied salads and fresh fruit and vegetables. Of course there were freshly baked biscuits made especially by Marion Graham. There were pies, a cheesecake and Allie's favorite, chocolate brownies.

Joan and Marion kept a close watch on Spencer's plate to make sure he was eating enough. "I think they want to fatten you up. I should tell them they're fighting a losing battle," Allie remarked.

"He seems to be putting away everything they're dishing up for him," Dylan said from his place at the far end of the table and was once again cuffed on the head, this time by his sister Chelsea. "What, can't a guy talk around here anymore?"

"How is Chantal doing dear," Joan asked. No one seemed to want to bring up the events of last evening but Joan felt this was a safe topic.

"We saw her this morning." Allie went on to tell the family about the visit with Chantal and Mark and seeing the new baby.

"So you're a Godmother now," Joan was saying to her daughter, "That's exciting."

"I am excited, I guess it's not official until he's christened but I'm looking forward to spoiling little Reid Graham."

"Oh wow, "Chelsea beamed, "They named the baby after you guys, oh now that is cool. You must be so honored."

"I am and I think Spencer is. He hasn't said much. I think he's still in shock." Reid nodded at Allie's interpretation, still trying to eat all that the women had heaped on his plate.

"You'll have to have one of your own one of these days," Charlie interjected from the head of the table.

"Well Chelsea should have one before her Grandpa, she's the one that's married," Dylan added much to Reid's relief. Everyone turned to look at Chelsea who was holding Mike's hand. They were smiling broadly.

Allie was the first to catch on, "Oh my God, you are aren't you, you're pregnant. Aaah," she screamed and jumped up to hug her sister. "Oh my God, a Godmother and now I'm going to be an aunt. Isn't that great honey?" Reid nodded that it was and hoped it would take her mind off being a mother herself. He quickly offered his congratulations to the couple as the rest of the family joined in.

After everyone had eaten all they could, the women started to clean up the table. "I'm going to pack up these leftovers. We've got a cooler that we never use and Spencer can take it home with him," Joan said as the four women started gathering the many leftovers from the table.

"No really, Mrs. Graham, there's no need." Reid tried to dissuade Allie's mother.

"You might as well save your breath and face it son, she's chosen to mother you and there isn't anything you can do about it," Lloyd told him. "Just go with the flow. That's what I've done all these years."

Dylan and Mike had planned a game of pool in the basement, leaving Reid and Lloyd alone, sharing a pot of coffee in his den. "I noticed the look on your face with all the baby talk. It scares you doesn't it because of your family?"

"Allie knows she's got a good support system to build a family on. That's important. I don't have that and therefore any child of mine won't have that. I also worry that I'll pass on my mother's schizophrenia."

"And what if you do? Our world is made up of imperfect people, thank God. Some of the most imperfect people have achieved the greatest things. It's just a chance you'll have to take, if you've got the guts and I think you do. As far as your support system, the situation is not likely to improve with your mother, her condition being what it is, but you still have your father." He held up his hand to stave off Reid's comment. "I know he's in prison for trying to kill you and I don't know the circumstances surrounding that and I'm not trying to pry. He'll have time in there to think and reflect and on your part there's always forgiveness if you have it in you. Where there's life there's hope. Think about it and if your father ever needs help on a parole hearing or anything, I'd be happy to help. Of course you've got Agent Hotchner who's a fine lawyer in his own right." Reid looked surprised. "Spencer, I knew who was likely to be in that interrogation room with Daryl and me. I may be a small city attorney but I do my research."

Reid admired the room, like he admired the man who inhabited it. It was very much a man's room with rich dark wood furniture and bookcases housing a vast array of books from law, to fiction, to biographies to poetry. Reid liked this room. He could feel at home in this room. Over by the window two brown leather wing chairs encircled a small table that held a beautifully carved wooden chess set on an inlaid wood board. "Wow, that is truly beautiful," he picked up the black knight. The carving was exquisite.

"My father did that. He was a woodworker. He made the set, the board and the table it sits on. It's one of my most prized possessions."

"I can see why," Reid replied.

"My father made that for me when I was your age and I have lovingly tended it all these years. We used to play a lot and although he's still a sharp old guy, his thought processes aren't what they used to be," he said sadly. "I tried to get the kids interested. Allie learned, bless her heart, but her heart was never in it and it was never much of a challenge with her." It reminded Reid of how much he missed his chess matches with Gideon. He enjoyed teaching Evan but it wasn't the same, not yet anyway. It probably never would be. There was a silent camaraderie over a chessboard that many never understood. Lloyd was continuing, "I was hoping it would be with Dylan like it was with me and my father but he lacks the desire and discipline necessary for the game."

Reid sat in one of the very comfortable chairs. He put the black knight back in its place. He then took one of the white pawns and moved it forward on the board. He looked up at Lloyd who smiled and sat in the opposite chair. An hour later Allie opened the door to the study looking for Spencer, thinking they should be starting the journey home. She silently closed the door. Maybe she could interest her mother in a game of Scrabble.


	36. Chapter 36

Disclaimer: Guess what?

A/N: Thanks to all who still read and review, and keep REIDFANATIC from feeling blue.

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Hotch looked up from the report he was writing at the sound of a knock on his door. "Come in Reid." Reid entered closing the door behind him. "I received word today from Lancaster that the autopsy on Lorne Kemp's body revealed potassium chloride caused the heart attack that killed him. Daryl Kullman is being arraigned on eight counts of first degree murder." Reid nodded. "What did you want to see me about," Hotch asked.

"I have a favor to ask," he said tentatively.

"A personal one or one that involves the bureau," Hotch inquired.

"Both actually," the young profiler continued. "A few months back, after what happened to Evan, his principal, Mr. Senoff, asked if I would speak to the students about handling bullying and some self defense techniques. Well, you know how busy we are and I guess I never got back to him but what happened to Darcy Kullman made me think, that if she'd had a better way of coping or if the bullying had been handled differently, eight people might be alive today"

"So you're asking my permission to speak at Evan's school, you don't need that."

"I know that," Reid replied, "It's more than that. This self defense thing, I wondered if I could take Morgan, Emily, JJ and maybe Garcia and we could spend the day. I could do my talk and Morgan could lead the hand to hand with the rest of us helping. I know Garcia could think of something cool to do for and with the kids on their computers. It would be good PR for the unit and a community service."

"Have you talked to the others," Hotch asked?

"Uh huh, they all say they'll go if we can get a day." Reid looked expectantly at his boss.

"Okay Reid, I'll check with the powers that be but it sounds like a good idea to me."

"Thanks Hotch," Reid turned to leave the room.

"Reid, wait, sit down for a minute." Hotch reached in a drawer and pulled out an envelope. He handed it to Reid.

"What's this," the young profiler asked?

"A gentleman I know, who owes me a favor, is in the travel business," Hotch explained. "You didn't really get your vacation so I want you to consider that trip. He'll give you a really good deal. He said he'd give it for free but I couldn't accept that, it would be inappropriate. I'm sure Allie would enjoy it."

"Thanks Hotch, but Allie only had five days vacation. She doesn't have any left, not until next year."

"That's not exactly true. Since we were working on a case when we were in Lancaster and Allie, as an FBI employee, was assisting us, I put her down as working. She'll receive full pay and her vacation is restored."

Reid's eyes grew large, "Really. That's great, does Allie know?"

Hotch shook his head, "I thought I'd let you tell her."

Reid was thoughtful for a moment, "The hotel bill in Lancaster, you paid for it didn't you?"

"The bureau did. You were both working on a case. There was nothing inappropriate about it." Hotch replied.

Reid opened the envelope and took out the brochure, looking at the picturesque mountains and water. "It looks beautiful."

"It is beautiful, a piece of heaven on earth. There's so much to do there, theatre, music, restaurants, museums or just enjoy the spectacular surroundings."

"Lake Louise, that's in…"

"Canada," Hotch supplied. "The perfect place because you have no jurisdiction up there. If you run into some kind of foul play, call the RCMP."

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"You mean you're all coming to my school!" Reid had just told Evan that the FBI had agreed to give the team a day at Talbot middle school to address the bullying situation and provide the kids with some self defense techniques.

"Not all of us, Hotch and David aren't coming, but the rest of us will be there," Reid informed his brother.

"Cool," the boy said excitedly. "I can hardly wait." He was quiet for a moment and appeared to be contemplating the chess board in front of him when he said, "Spencer, I have to talk to you about something but I don't want you to be mad."

"Why don't I like the sound of that," Reid raised an eyebrow at his brother.

"Okay, I know you don't want me to but I really want to visit Dad. I don't know why. It's just like I need to or something. I know you're mad at Dad and that's why you don't want to take me but could you please."

Reid closed his eyes, heaving a heavy sigh. "Evan, going to visit someone in prison, it's not like just going to someone's house to see them."

"I know that, but people visit there all the time, right?"

"Yes, they do but…"

"Then why can't I, what's different about me?"

"There's no reason why you, specifically, can't. What does your Mom say about it," Reid asked, hoping Janice would have reservations that would help him convince his brother this was not the best of ideas.

The boy got up from the table where they'd been playing chess and walked to the couch and sat. "She's not thrilled but she said she understands and if you'll take me, I can go." The room was silent for some moments. "Please," he continued. "You said you couldn't take me before because you had to go to Allie's reunion but that's over now, so you can, right."

Because he could think of no more reasons to stall and because he had such a damned hard time saying no to his little brother, he capitulated. "Okay, we'll plan for next weekend. I'll book us flights to Kansas City and if we don't have a case, we'll go."

"Thanks Spencer, I knew I could count on you." Evan got up from the couch and returned to the chess table. Before he sat, he wrapped his arms around his brother. "I love you." The boy sat at the table and moved his queen forward.

Reid responded, "I love you too," and moved his knight to capture his brother's queen, "Check."


	37. Chapter 37

Disclaimer: You know the drill

A/N: Continued thanks to all who take the time to review.

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Reid, Morgan, Emily, JJ and Garcia had been at Talbot Middle School since mid morning. Principal Senoff had given them the better part of a day with the students to do what they thought appropriate to the kids in handling an attacker, be it a bully or a mugger.

All five had spoken to the student body in turn. Reid talked about bullying, the victim and the bully himself. He even shared some of his own experiences which surprised most of the students. They found it hard to believe an FBI agent had been the target of bullies. "If I want you to remember one thing, it would be that, at some point the bullying ends. Tell someone, talk to your parents and if they won't listen, try someone else or talk to me. Miss Garcia will be providing information so you can reach any of us. Try to get out of the situation but if you can't, as in my case, and you have to grin and bear it, don't become the person the bully is trying to turn you into. Someday, though it seems hard to believe now, school will be over and that person will be gone from your life and if you don't let him turn you into a victim, you'll come out okay." He sadly thought of Darcy Kullman.

Morgan talked about self defense and some of the techniques they would be dealing with. Emily and JJ spoke to particular concerns of the girls. Garcia developed some interactive games the kids could play, incorporating what they learned from the agents. She also developed a web site the students could visit and they could contact any of them with concerns.

They broke for lunch which the team ate in the school cafeteria. Principal Senoff had offered to have them join the staff for lunch in the teachers' lounge but the team said they'd prefer to eat with the kids. Students approached with questions, mostly about the FBI and what it was like being agents.

"Reid, this was a really good idea," JJ said after they'd finished their meal and were making their way to the gym, all dressed in FBI sweat suits. "We should do things like this more, get out around kids. I think it's a great thing," to which the rest of the team agreed.

Morgan was to lead the self defense training with the other three agents roaming the gym, helping as needed. Morgan asked the students to break off into pairs and find a place on the numerous mats that covered the floor of the gym.

When they had all separated into pairs, Bethany told Evan she would try not to be too hard on him which Manny and Jared, next to them, found very amusing. One boy, it seemed, had no partner. He stood alone and looked around the gym. A few of the students snickered. He turned and seemed about to leave when Reid said, "No, don't go, I'll be your partner."

Julian Fitzgibbon's jaw dropped at Reid's offer to be his partner. Reid motioned for the boy to join him on the mat. A collective whisper could be heard among the other students and a few giggles from the girls. Jared whispered to Evan, "I hope your brother creams him." Once Julian had joined Reid on the mat, the profiler nodded for Morgan to begin the exercise.

Morgan began by explaining that these were self defense techniques, to be used for self defense and not for attempting to inflict injury on one another. Morgan then demonstrated a leg sweep on Emily. The students tried to copy his movements. Groans and laughter erupted from the kids as they attempted the feat. Julian performed a leg sweep on Reid and managed to bring him down. "That's very good; you've got good body mechanics Julian." The boy just stared at Reid.

Morgan continued showing the students various moves. Evan had some difficulty getting out of Bethany's headlock as he was reluctant to pull her hair, a requirement of the technique. Bethany, had no such qualms, as she performed the movement perfectly as evidenced by Evan's sharp intake of breath, followed by his release of her head when she pulled with all her strength on his brown locks. This brought laughter from Manny and Jared to their left and Shauna and Judy to their right.

Julian, it appeared was in the same predicament as Evan. He seemed reluctant to pull on Reid's hair. "It's okay to pull my hair Julian, it's part of the technique," Reid assured the boy but Julian looked back at Reid, fear showing in his green eyes. "What's the matter Julian, are you afraid," Reid asked. "I won't retaliate, I promise."

"It won't be like at home," Reid said suddenly and Julian's head snapped up, the fear back in his eyes, but this time, it was not the fear of being physically injured. It was the fear that someone had seen through his mask.

"W-what are you talking about?" The boy asked, tentatively.

"Well, you couldn't do that at home could you? Your father doesn't live with you, right?" Reid asked the boy as he sat down cross legged on the mat and patted it for the boy to sit down as well.

Julian looked around the room but then sat and nodded, "My parents are divorced."

Reid nodded, "Mine too."

"You've got an older brother, right; probably more than one." Reid told the boy.

The boy looked stunned, then lowered his head, "Three," he responded.

The other students were starting to whisper and point. What were Julian and Evan's brother doing, sitting cross legged on the mat and talking? Morgan said to a group, "Hey, hey, you guys concentrate on what you're doing. Don't worry about them, okay."

"Your Mom, she doesn't have any control over them does she?" Reid carried on. "She can't discipline them because they won't listen to her. They're bigger than she is and pretty physical, aren't they? She's afraid of them."

The boy continued to look amazed, "H-how did you…?"

"So, not to feel totally powerless," Reid continued, "Your Mom takes her frustrations out on the only person in the house smaller that she is, you. And you can't do anything about it at home, can you? You're trapped. But here, here you can show you're big and tough. Here there are kids smaller than you." The boy kept his head down and nodded.

"You try to feel big by making somebody else feel small. It doesn't last for long though, does it, and soon you're feeling miserable again."

Julian looked up at Reid, silent tears streaming down his face. Reid stood, pulling the boy to his feet. "Come on, let's get out of here." He put his arm around the teen and led him from the gym.

The other students whispered and pointed as the two left the gym. "Alright kids," Emily said, "Concentrate on your techniques and your partner. There's nothing to see."

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"Alright," Evan said jumping into Reid's SUV, "Dish. What was going on with you and Julian?"

"That's between me and Julian," and DCFS Reid thought but did not mention this to his brother.

"Oh come on, Spencer," his brother begged, "Everybody expects me to get the lowdown."

"Well, everybody will be disappointed."

"Spencer, this is Julian we're talking about, he's a creep."

Maybe, Spencer thought, but he had made arrangements to keep in touch with Julian to see if that changed.

"You're not gonna tell me are you." Reid shook his head. "What am I supposed to tell everybody?"

"To mind their own business," Reid suggested as he started his vehicle and drove off.


	38. Chapter 38

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds

A/N: Still enjoying all the reviews. You guys are the best!

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A steady drizzle fell as the plane touched down in Kansas City. The weather seemed to reflect his mood, Reid thought as he and Evan headed through the airport concourse to the car rental desk. Evan had been unusually quiet on the plane. Perhaps the dismal weather had affected him as well, Reid considered, and hoped the storminess was not a harbinger of trouble when they reached Leavenworth.

Reid drove the black Ford Taurus out of the airport. He noticed that Evan had started to fidget. Had his desire to see their father finally given way to nervousness? Reid continued through Kansas City until he eventually got on the I-29 north. They traveled the interstate to the Platte City exit which took them through Platte City. A mere twelve miles later, they were turning into USP Leavenworth.

Evan looked at the massive structure and his jaw dropped. "I didn't realize it was so huge," he said!

"Well," Reid said, "It sits on 1583 acres with 22.8 acres inside the penitentiary walls."

"Wow, look at those walls! How high are they anyway?" The boy asked.

"They're forty feet high and they go forty feet underground," Reid informed him. He parked the car in the parking lot. He sat silently for a moment, then said, "Take your cell and put it in the glove compartment. They're not allowed." Reid opened the glove compartment and placed his cell there. His brother did likewise.

"How much money do you have in your wallet," Reid asked as he removed money from his wallet along with credit cards and added them to the cell phones.

"Fifty bucks, why?" Evan asked.

"Because you can't take in more than twenty. Put the rest with your cell."

Evan did as his brother told him unquestioningly, but he looked bewildered. Once he had finished, he looked at his brother. Reid heaved as sigh, "Okay let's do this." The brothers got out of the car and made their way to the entrance.

In the entrance, behind a glass partition sat the intake officer. Reid approached and told the man they were here to see William Reid. The man tapped something into a computer. "How old's the kid," he asked.

"Fourteen," Reid replied.

The man nodded and took two sheets of paper and attached each to a clipboard. He handed them to Reid. "Sit over there," he pointed to some chairs, "And fill these out. Any unanswered question will result in denial of visitation." He turned away, dismissing Reid.

Reid took the questionnaires over to the chairs, handing one to Evan. "You have to answer all the questions or they won't let you visit." Reid told him.

Evan took the clipboard from his brother. He sat and began to answer the questions. When they were done, Reid returned the questionnaires to the intake officer.

"Return to your seat; we'll let you know," he said.

Reid returned to the chair he had vacated. "What happens now," Evan asked?

Reid looked at his brother, "We wait."

Reid watched as the intake officer picked up the phone and spoke to someone, hung up and looked over at the brothers. The outside door opened, admitting two men who approached the glassed-in desk. These men were also given questionnaires which they completed and returned to the intake officer. Shortly thereafter, another guard appeared and the men were told to follow him to the visiting room.

"Spencer, how come those guys came after us but got in before us," Evan asked, confused.

Another uniformed officer appeared and entered the glass partitioned area, speaking quietly with the intake officer. He pointed at the Reid brothers; the other man nodded and picked up the phone.

"They're trying to decide whether to let us in," Reid informed Evan.

"What do you mean? Why wouldn't they let us in," the boy asked?

"Because, their main concern is maintaining order in the prison and they can't allow anything that might disturb that," Reid explained.

"But," Evan was trying to get his head around what his brother was saying. "But why would they think we'd disturb the order. I don't get it."

"Okay Evan, it's like this, there are a lot of really bad criminals here, some serial killers. Some, I helped put away. My presence here could upset things."

"You mean, they think the prisoners might get mad because you're an FBI agent?"

"Yes."

"So you think they might not let us in because of that?"

"Yes."

"But, that's not fair!"

"Evan, fair is not even a word in this place. They don't care if it's fair or not. If my presence might upset the order, we're out, no questions asked."

"But we came a long way," Evan persisted.

"Evan, they…don't…care. All they care about is maintaining order."

"You knew about this, didn't you?" The boy asked.

"I suspected there might be a problem," Reid admitted.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Would you have believed me? I doubt it. You would have thought I was trying to get out of bringing you. I tried to tell you and Allie but you both had your heads in the clouds and refused to understand. You're fourteen years old. You shouldn't have to understand the workings of a federal penitentiary."

"You're trying to protect me again."

"Damn right I am. I'll always try to protect you. I make no apologies for that." He looked around him. "Though I don't seem to be doing a bang up job of it at the moment."

"Okay," Reid could see the wheels in his brother's head turning. "So, if they don't want to let you in because you might cause problems, I got that, but they could let me in and I could visit with Dad while you wait here. I mean, you weren't keen on seeing Dad anyway."

"No Evan, that won't work." Reid hated to dampen his brother's hopes still more.

"Why not," the boy's voice rose?

"Evan, keep your voice down." Reid said quietly, smiling. "We don't want to appear to be having an argument over here. It won't work because kids under sixteen must be accompanied by a responsible adult."

"Oh for crying out…" Evan stopped talking when Reid elbowed him in the ribs gently. Spencer gestured to a man in a business suit who had just arrived and entered the glassed-in area.

"Who's that," Evan wondered?

"I suspect that he's the warden. They've probably called him down to make the decision. He's the boss. His decision is final." Reid told his brother.

The three men talked, gesturing now and then to the Reid brothers. Finally the man in the suit came out of the partitioned area and headed toward them.


	39. Chapter 39

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds and no copyright infringement is intended

A/N: Rules and regulations for visitation at Leavenworth USP are correct, as I know them. It is my own interpretation as to how they are carried out.

As always, your reviews are greatly appreciated.

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"Dr. Reid," the warden offered his hand. "Warden Bingham."

"Warden," Reid shook the man's hand.

"I'm sure you can understand our dilemma. We don't want to do anything that poses a threat to our security. We certainly don't want a repeat of what hap…"

"I do understand that warden," Reid said cutting the man off. "My brother," Reid gestured toward Evan, "Really wants to see our Dad. He suggested going in by himself but he's only fourteen."

"Yes, that's what the discussion's been about. Believe me, if you had been alone, you'd have been gone in a heartbeat."

"We've checked our records, there's no one in the visiting room right now that you've dealt with on a professional basis or that we believe knows who you are. If someone you have been involved with gets a visitor, we will cut your visit short. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir," Reid replied.

"Larry," he turned to a stocky grey haired man of medium height with a bald spot on the top of his head. "Please escort these gentlemen to the visiting room," the warden ordered.

"Thank you warden," Reid said as they followed Larry down a long hallway where they turned down another short hallway that ended in a large room with thick doors, the top half which consisted of large glass windows.

"Hi Murray," Larry said, "Officer Stroud's the visiting room officer. He's in charge of the room and what he says goes. Ya got that." Reid and Evan both nodded.

Larry turned and left them. "How old's the kid," Murray asked.

"Fourteen," Spencer and Evan said together.

"Okay, then, you don't need a photo ID, so we might as well process you first. Look straight ahead here. We're taking your picture for our records." A flash went off and Evan blinked. "Stand here," the man directed Evan and he took a wand from a machine and started running it over Evan's body.

"What's that," Evan asked.

Murray didn't answer so Reid said, "It's an ion scan. It detects if you've been in contact with narcotics."

"Really," Evan raised his eyebrows.

When the scan was finished, Murray told Evan to raise his hands. "What for," Evan looked frightened.

Reid thought Murray could have explained things a little. Evan obviously had no idea what was going on and it was scaring him. "Evan, he has to search you," Reid explained. Murray patted Evan down and made him open his wallet and show him what was inside.

After finishing with Evan, he moved on to Reid, going through the same procedure although Reid was required to show a photo ID. With the procedure completed, Murray recited, in a monotone, a spiel he'd obviously said a thousand times.

"You have one hour from the time the prisoner arrives in the visiting room. An embrace and/or kissing is permitted only at the beginning and end of the visit. Any other physical contact will not be allowed, understood?"

Reid and Evan both nodded that they understood. Reid didn't think embracing and kissing was going to be much of an issue. They entered the room that consisted of tables with bench seats attached much like a picnic table. Some sat four and others only two. There were about six tables that already had people at them. They chose a table with four seats and waited for their father to be brought in.

About fifteen minutes passed before the door to the visiting room opened admitting William Reid. The man Spencer knew as his father was gone. There was no brown left in his hair. He was thinner, his face gaunt. The brightness was gone from his eyes and his whole body appeared to sag as if the life had drained out of it, dragging his physical body down with it. Evan, Reid could tell, did not recognize this man was their father. Spencer lightly touched Evan on the arm and the boy's eyes grew large with shock at their father's appearance.

Just as William reached the table, Evan jumped up and threw himself into his father's arms, almost knocking the older man over. Reid jumped up placing a hand behind his father to steady him. William Reid looked at his younger son. "You're growing. You're getting so big. You're going to be tall like your brother."

They sat down and Evan asked brightly, "So how are you doing Dad?"

William glanced briefly at Spencer who shook his head almost imperceptibly. William nodded back just as briefly so Evan was unaware of the silent conversation going on between his father and brother. "I've been good. I've been working in the textile factory. There's a furniture and print factory here also. It's interesting work and I read a lot, the library here is surprisingly good."

Murray would come into the room from time to time to tell different inmates their time was up. A Latino woman Reid thought to be in her sixties came into the room walking very slowly with an arthritic gait. She tripped and Evan jumped up to catch her before she fell. "Gracias, young man," she said patting Evan on the cheek and finding a table for two.

William asked how Evan was doing. "I'm doing great Dad. I'm doing really well in school. My best friend Manny Castillo and I do a lot of stuff together and I do all kinds of stuff with Spencer." He went on to tell William about the camping trip and Spencer teaching him chess. "Spencer used to play chess all the time with Gideon but then Gideon just left one day. He never even said good bye to anybody, he just left a letter for Spencer."

William looked at his older son and could see the pain in those brown eyes. Those eyes, since Spencer was a little child, those eyes had always told the story, William thought. He knew what it was like to have to make the decision to leave them. "Maybe he couldn't say what he had to say face to face," William said. "Maybe he couldn't look in your eyes knowing they would beg him to stay far more effectively than any words. It sounds like he left a lot of people but he only left a letter to the one that was important." He reached over to touch Spencer's arm, resting on the table. Spencer pulled his arm away quickly like he'd been burned. "I'm sorry," William said, "I..."

"No physical contact is allowed, we'll have Officer Stroud in here cautioning us," Reid said quietly.

A large, well built, young Latino man came into the visiting room and hurried over to the woman who had just entered. "Abuela," he bent and hugged her close, kissing her on the cheek. He crouched down and took her knobby arthritic hands in his and softly kissed them. As he turned to sit, he noticed William. "Professor, this is my abuela," he gestured to the woman. "Abuela, this is the professor I told you about."

Murray came into the room. "Mendez, in your seat now, no contact with the other inmates or their visitors," the visiting room officer said.

The man held his hands up, "Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to cause any trouble," he said as he sat down across from his grandmother.

"What's his story," Reid inclined his head towards the young Latino.

"Chico Mendez," William began, "Grew up in Chicago. His mother left him when he was a baby. He never even knew who his father was. He was raised by his grandmother. He got involved with a gang because it was the only way to survive in his neighborhood. He was the lookout on a liquor store robbery, and not a very good one obviously. The clerk got killed and a customer got wounded. His friends got away but he got caught. He refused to give up his buddies so he took the fall alone. He adores his abuela. She comes from Chicago once a month on the bus, can you believe it, over eight hours each way. He's trying to get his GED and I've been tutoring him."

"He's your protection, isn't he?" Reid asked. William bowed his head and then he nodded. "Hey, Dad, it's okay. You do what you gotta do to survive in this place. This guy needs help with school work. You sell your skills for what you can get. That's the name of the game here. It looks like you two get along pretty well."

"He's not the smartest guy in the world but he's kind, loyal and he's got a good heart. He just needs some guidance. He doesn't belong here." Spencer could hardly believe what his eyes and ears were telling him. Here, in the middle of a federal penitentiary, with a delinquent gang member, William Reid was finally becoming a father!


	40. Chapter 40

Disclaimer: I do not (yawn) own Criminal Minds

A/N: Thanks again for all the support.

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Evan was telling his father about Spencer and the team coming to the school to teach self defense. Reid told William about Evan's poor attempts with Bethany because he was afraid to hurt her. "So you have a girlfriend," William asked?

"Well Dad, she's a girl and she's a friend, so I guess…Oh I don't know," the boy responded. "Oh, and don't you look at me like that Spencer. You were just as bad with Allie at first."

"It appears you both do pretty well with the ladies. Your girlfriend is very lovely Spencer." At the look of confusion on Reid's face he said, "I saw her when you were in the ICU."

Murray came and informed them that time was up. The brothers stood up. William looked at them, asking, "Will you come again sometime?"

"I'd like to Dad but I guess it depends if they'll let Spencer in. They almost didn't this time. Once I'm sixteen, I'll be able to come in on my own. Do you think we can come again Spencer."

"We'll try," Reid responded. "Try and stay safe Dad."

"You too son."

"Okay, bye Dad," Evan said tearfully, hugging his Dad again.

"Bye son."

As the brothers went through the visiting room doors, Reid looked back at his father. William nodded his head and winked.

The drizzle was still falling as Reid and Evan made their way back to their rental car and got in. When Evan said nothing, Reid asked, "Are you okay."

"N..no," the boy said, shaking his head as tears spilled down his cheeks.

Reid reached over and took his little brother in his arms and held him until his tears subsided.

"That was some family reunion, huh," Evan said, still sniffling.

"Yes it was," Reid replied through his own tears. "Yes it was."

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He arrived at his apartment after taking Evan home and thought about the visit with their father. The animosity his father felt for him seemed to have lessened. Perhaps Lloyd Graham had been right, that his Dad needed time to reflect. He thought of what his father had said about Gideon and the letter he'd left and he remembered another letter from his childhood.

He pulled the old wooden box out of the back of the closet and brushed off the dust. He opened the lid, the hinges protesting some due to disuse, and surveyed the meager cache nestled therein. There was a sonnet his mother had written before her schizophrenia had laid claim to that creativity. There were two unused tickets to a magic show. His father had bought them but had left before the performance. They were starting to fade and yellow with age; the flimsy cardboard had long ago puckered from the moisture of his tears. He couldn't for the life of him, think why he had saved them. There was a white handkerchief with the initials W.R. which, for a long time, held the scent of his father's favorite aftershave. He put it to his nose knowing that the scent would be gone just like his father had been. Lastly he found the letter his father had written to him. He'd found it in his room after his father had left. He looked at the familiar words in his father's handwriting and momentarily the pain was new again. He closed the lid and then returned the box to its hiding place. If only it were that easy to lock the memories away.

He wiped at the tears in his eyes. Could things change? Did he have it in him to forgive? Could there be a chance for him to have a relationship with his father? He was tired. He headed for his bedroom. Those were questions for another day.

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"Garcia," Reid said, poking his head into her sanctuary. "Have you got a few minutes."

The computer technician was dressed this day in a tunic Reid thought contained every color of the rainbow, a pink skirt and pink platform shoes. Her blonde hair was held back with a pair of zebra combs. She swiveled in her chair to look at him. "For you sweet thing, I have all the time in the world. Come in and tell me your problem."

"I want you to look someone up for me."

"Allie doesn't have something going on the side, does she," Garcia laughed.

"No, this has nothing to do with Allie, Garcia," Reid said seriously.

"Oh I know sweet…Oh never mind, what do you need."

"I need you to look up a man named Chico Mendez from Chicago, currently a guest at Leavenworth."

"Okay baby cakes, give me a few minutes and you will know him better than he knows himself."

When Reid got back to his desk, he picked up his telephone receiver and punched in an extension.

"Questioned Documents, Allie Graham, technical analyst," came the greeting when the phone was answered.

Good morning technical analyst Allie Graham, this is Supervisory Special Agent Dr. Spencer Reid," Reid said brightly into the receiver.

"How did it go with your Dad, you never called?"

"It was late when the plane got in." Reid explained, "And after I took Evan home and talked to Janice about what happened, it was even later."

"You still should have called me. I wasn't sleeping anyway. So what happened," Allie asked suspiciously.

"Are you still having nightmares? Why didn't you call me, I would have come. You know that."

"I'm okay, so what happened?"

"Nothing extraordinary, Evan just got his eyes opened to the prison system. It frightened him a bit at times. Anyway, I'm calling because I have a couple of documents that need to be looked at, are you swamped down there?"

"Not swamped, no," Allie responded. "I can at least give you a cursory evaluation, of course more in depth testing will take some time."

"No cursory is fine for now I think, I'll be right down," he hung up the phone and grabbed a brown envelope and headed for the elevator.

Reid arrived at the QD lab and handed the envelope to Allie. She gloved and removed the contents. "They're airline tickets," she looked at Reid like he was from outer space. "What do you want to know about them?"

"Just examine them closely and let me know what you think, I'll wait," Reid said nonchalantly.

"Oookay," Allie looked at the tickets more closely. "They're tickets to Calgary," she said, "For next week." She looked at Reid.

"I know that, I looked at them. I need a more detailed analysis," he responded.

She turned back to the tickets and something fell out from between them. Allie picked it up. "It's a brochure for Lake Louise. Do you want me to examine it too?"

"Well," Reid replied, "Maybe you could look at that later but first concentrate on the tickets."

"Was this found on a dead body?" Allie whispered.

"Will you just examine the damn tickets?" Reid said with exasperation. "Please."

Allie turned her attention to the tickets again when the phone beside her rang. She answered it in her usual courteous, professional manner. "Oh, yes agent Parkinson, I do have the results of that, just a moment, let me get my notes." She ran over to her desk, looking back at Reid, "Sorry," she whispered.

While Reid waited his cell phone rang, "Reid."

Hey sweetcheeks, got the lowdown on your boy," Garcia's perky voice reported.

"Okay, Garcia, let me have it."

"Chico Mendez," Garcia began, "Born Chicago, May 9th, 1987 to Juanita Mendez. No father listed on the birth certificate. Mother seems to have left shortly after the baby was born and Chico was raised by his grandmother, one Cecelia Mendez. No problems with the law until he became a member of a gang, los Guerreros. He was arrested for participating in an armed robbery of a liquor store. Clerk, Howard Montgomery was killed and a customer Phil Simmons was injured. Mr. Simmons, as it turns out, is an IRS agent, so it became a federal case. Chico didn't do the actual shooting, in fact he wasn't even in the store and was not in possession of a weapon but he took the fall because he wouldn't give up his gang member friends. He was sixteen but charged as an adult. Boy, if it wasn't for bad luck, this kid wouldn't have any at all. His lawyer was a PD, fresh grad of Columbia law, named Julie Crest and it was her very first case against a seasoned federal prosecutor named Ted Wyman. The judge, Harold Epstein is also known as the hanging judge hence Chico is now serving fifteen to twenty in Leavenworth."

"Whew, thanks Garcia,"

"Anytime sweet thing, over and out."

Dad was right, Reid thought, Chico doesn't belong there.


	41. Chapter 41

Disclaimer: For the last time, I do not own Criminal Minds

A/N: Last chapter guys. Thanks to everyone for their support on the story, especially mablereid. CC I'll get to work on your idea soon.

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Allie turned her attention to the tickets once again. She opened the first one, a return flight to Calgary. Suddenly her eyes were as big as saucers. "This ticket has my name on it," Allie said excitedly. She quickly picked up the other ticket, "This one has your name on it." She looked up to see the widest smile and dancing brown eyes. "What, honey I don't understand."

"I got a great deal on this trip and since the reunion didn't work out the way you'd hoped, I figured another get away was called for," Reid explained.

"That's really sweet honey, but I don't have any more vacation time."

"Uh, yeah you do. Because you were helping with the case in Lancaster, Hotch slated you as working, assisting the BAU, so your vacation was restored. I talked with Dennis and he said now was an okay time so I booked the trip. We are going to spend a glorious week in Lake Louise," Reid announced happily.

Allie ran around from behind her workbench and threw her arms around Reid, kissing him soundly on the lips. "Allie, we're in the workplace," Reid reminded her.

"Oh sorry, I guess I got carried away." She blushed noticing others in the lab were staring.

Reid picked up the envelope and put the tickets inside it and turned to leave. "Hang on a minute there bucko, leave those here. I am going to give them a thorough evaluation and I will get back to you with my findings Dr. Reid."

"Can I make one request," Reid whispered. Allie nodded and Reid continued. "When we go to Lake Louise could you bring that little silk lace thingy that you didn't get to wear in Lancaster? I'll give it a thorough evaluation and get back to you with my findings."

Allie slapped him playfully on the shoulder. "Get back to work."

"Yes ma'am," Reid said as he was going out the door. When he was out of the lab he pulled out his cell and placed a call. "Hi, Mr. Graham, Spencer Reid."

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William Reid was sitting on his bunk, reading a book. Larry stopped in front of his cell and walked in. He handed William some papers. "It's strange, in all the time I've been here nobody ever asked for that before. Anyway, I just ran them off on the copier, they're not great quality."

William unfolded the sheets of paper, "They'll do fine. Thank you Larry."

"Hey it's the least I could do. After I told my daughter your suggestions, she had no problem with her college admissions."

After the guard had gone, William looked at the papers Larry had left with him. Looking back at him were the faces of Evan and Spencer taken outside the visiting room.

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There was a knock at the door. Cecelia Mendez got slowly to her feet, her arthritic knees protesting the movement, and hobbled slowly to the door. She opened the door, careful to leave the chain on, to see a man in a courier's uniform holding a brown envelope.

"Delivery for Cecelia Mendez," said the courier.

"For me, who would send me something?" The courier handed her the envelope. "Oh," she said, "I don't have much money."

"It's okay ma'am, tip's already been taken care of. Just sign this sheet beside your name." He passed a clipboard through the only slightly open door. Cecelia signed the paper and handed it back. After thanking the courier, she closed and locked the door, walked unsteadily back to her chair and opened the envelope.

Inside there was an airline ticket and a letter. She opened the letter and started to read.

_Dear Mrs. Mendez,_

_Arrangements have been made through First National Bank of Chicago for you to fly once each month from Chicago to Kansas City. _

_You will be picked up at your home by the airport shuttle and you will be picked up upon arrival in Kansas City and delivered to your destination. You will return in the same manner. Please let First National know when you want to take your flight each month and they will purchase the ticket on your behalf._

_If you have any questions please contact me, a card with my number is attached. Please reverse all charges._

_Yours truly,_

_Lloyd Graham _

_Attorney at Law_

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Reid opened his apartment door and his olfactory senses were aroused by the aroma of Allie's three cheese lasagna. The cook was busy chopping vegetables for a salad, singing along with the radio, oblivious to his entrance. He approached her from behind putting his arms around her waist. Allie jumped and screamed, twisting from his grasp, the knife in her hand poised.

Reid raised his hands. "I'm so sorry, oh God, I'm sorry. I never thought." He backed away.

Allie looked at him, and then disbelievingly at the knife in her hand. "Oh God," she screamed as the knife dropped from her hand and clattered to the floor. Tears spilled down her face as Reid took her in his arms and held her. "W..what's wrong with me, I could have hurt you," she whispered tearfully.

"No," he held her away from him. "You would never hurt me. I know you'd rather die than hurt me."

"But the knife, I…"

"That was my fault." He caressed her hair soothingly. "I shouldn't have snuck up on you. After what you went through, I should have known better."

"I thought…I thought I was okay," she spluttered, her head on his shoulder. "But when you came behind me it felt like when Daryl was behind me, holding that knife at my throat and I…I…"

"I know, it was stupid of me. You just looked so utterly adorable, singing and chopping away. I should have said something and not scared you," Reid admitted.

"No," she pushed herself away from him. "You shouldn't have to walk on eggshells around me," Allie protested. "You shouldn't have to put up with this."

"Listen, you've put up with my nightmares and panic attacks. You've been through a very traumatic experience and I will not let you go through the aftermath of that alone."

"Come here," he took her hand and led her to the couch. "Sit down; I need to talk to you about something." Allie sat, looking intently at Spencer. "I've been thinking about something." He cleared his throat. "I would like you to move in here with me. Let's go start packing up your stuff before we go away and when we come back from our trip, it won't be my place, it'll be ours."

"You want me to live here with you, now. Shouldn't we wait until whatever this is resolves?"

"No," Reid shook his head adamantly. "Post traumatic stress disorder, let's give it the proper name. You know it's not going away overnight. But we both know it can and will get better. We have some wonderful psychologists at the bureau and they can help us get through this. We…We," he repeated, "Can get through this."

She looked into the brown eyes she loved so much, "You and me?"

Reid nodded, "You and me."

"Together?"

"Together."

**The End**


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